i LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, i 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Manual of Pedagogics 



BY 



DANIEL PUTNAM, A.M. 

PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY IN THE MICHIGAN 
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 



raftj an Entrotmctfon 



RICHARD G. BOONE, A.M., Ph.D. 

PRINCIPAL OF MICHIGAN STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 
















SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY 
New York . . . BOSTON . . . Chicago 

1895 



) 



LB/M.S 



Copyright, 1895, 
By Silver, Burdett and Company. 



All rights reserved. 



WLni'omitu $wss: 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U. S. A. 



PREFACE. 



THIS manual contains the substance of the instruc- 
tion given at the present time in the Michigan 
State Normal School upon the general application of 
psychology to the science and art of teaching. As in- 
dicated, the instruction is supplemented, as time permits, 
by reference to various works. Methods of teaching 
particular branches of study are considered only inci- 
dentally, for the purpose of illustrating the application 
of general laws. 

The form of the matter of the book is the result of a 
gradual growth of many years. Portions of the matter 
have been rewritten and revised several times, and prob- 
ably the process of revision would still go on if publica- 
tion were delayed longer. The work does not assume 
to be a complete treatise upon Pedagogics, but a contri- 
bution to the educational discussion of the day. It is 
not addressed, on the one hand, to " advanced thinkers," 
nor, on the other, to those who are looking for " a short 
cut " into the teacher's position, with no desire to study 
principles as a basis for correct methods of teaching, 
and school work generally, but to students of Normal 
Schools and to others of about the same degree of peda- 



iv PREFACE. 

gogical attainment. It is hoped that the manual may- 
serve a useful purpose as a text-book in such schools, in 
colleges, and in teachers' reading circles, and may also 
be of service to private readers. 

It would be worse than folly for the ordinary writer 
upon Pedagogics to lay claim to much of originality in 
thought. He will be satisfied if he succeeds in present- 
ing familiar truths in such a way as to render their real 
signification clearer and their practical applications easier 
and more obvious. To secure these ends, an effort has 
been made to avoid the unnecessary use of technical 
terms, and to state principles and laws in every-day 
language. 

The writer is not consciously a disciple of any partic- 
ular master, and does not suppose that any one peda- 
gogical school has a monopoly of truth relating to 
education and teaching. He has, consequently, bor- 
rowed freely from all available sources, believing that 
the old is not worthless simply because it is old, nor the 
new valuable merely because it is new, but that it is the 
part of wisdom, in educational as in other affairs, " to 
prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good," 
without regard to age or parentage. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter Page 

Introduction vii 

I. What Education Is n 

II. Varieties of Education 23 

III. Matter and Direction of Our Present Study 36 

IV. Study of the Child. — Body. — Mind , . . , 52 
V. Outline Study of Mind. — Feelings. — Will. — 

Moral Powers. (Continued) ...... 74 

VI. Laws of Development and Inferences from 

Them 86 

VII. General Laws of Mind and of Teaching . . 126 

VIII. Special Laws of Mind and of Teaching . . 157 
IX. The Recitation, or The Teacher in the 

Class 180 

X. Attention and Interest 200 

XI. Moral Instruction and Training ..... 223 

XII. Personality in the Teacher 254 

XIII. Selection and Arrangement of Studies . . 269 

XIV. The Study of Children 280 

XV. The Study of Children. (Continued) .... 304 

INDEX 327 



INTRODUCTION. 



AS the study of teaching goes on, it becomes increas- 
ingly more apparent that a large share of each 
individual's culture comes to him independently of the 
schools. 

Maturing, and growth, and development, and learning 
are terms which name natural processes whose direction 
only is at the call of the teacher, not their genesis or 
continuance. The unschooled child, whether found 
upon the streets of civilization, among the wild tribes 
of barbarism, or bound by the chains of human slavery, 
is as certainly destined for a course of maturing and 
functional improvement as he who is reared in an atmos- 
phere of letters, and whose hands are upheld by culture. 
A cultivation of mind is as surely effected by nature 
as by man. In the two cases the processes are the 
same, and favoring conditions are equally appropriated 
by the mind. Teaching is a process of multiplying 
these favoring conditions. The teacher can no more 
think for the child than can the clod or the cloud which 
commands his attention. The former may converge 
stimuli, where the latter scatters ; use the means of cul- 
ture thriftily, where nature is only wasteful, or worse; 



vin INTRODUCTION. 

but there is every reason for supposing that the mental 
conditions of learning, and the process itself, are the 
same in both cases. 

If this be true, method — the method of the school 
— is not something imposed upon the child, but it is 
something which the child imposes upon the school. 
What the processes of learning and growth are, fixes the 
nature of teaching and the function of the school. In 
the purpose of the school are the rational grounds for 
whatever administration and equipment the school pos- 
sesses. The choice of school courses, and apparatus, 
and texts, and the daily programme, and the form and 
conduct of the recitation, is not an arbitrary or indiffer- 
ent matter. These are fixed in the nature of the end to 
be reached. Were that end perfectly understood by the 
teacher, no detail of the school would be unimportant. 
As it is, the theme of this book concerns the presenta- 
tion of the conditions under which the most effective 
teaching goes on. That is, the emphasis is not put upon 
the teaching act, but rather upon the qualities of mind 
and life which make one or another teaching act to be 
reasonable. 

To retrace the steps in this brief discussion, observe 
the following points, which are unquestionably in con- 
sonance with the text, if not directly extracted from it: 

1. Education in the large sense and in the final 
analysis is the life-process through which the individual 
is matured. 

2. The Science of Education is the body of laws in 
accordance with which the process of maturing goes on. 



INTRODUCTION. ix 

3. The Art of Teaching is the intelligent direction of 
this process. 

4. The Science of Teaching is the body of principles 
in accordance with which the intelligent direction of this 
process goes on. 

It will be obvious to the reader that a comprehensive 
pedagogical treatise would involve a detailed consid- 
eration of these several aspects of the subject. The 
author's discussion rests a consideration of the ques- 
tion primarily upon point 4. Nevertheless, chapters 
i.-v., inclusive, comprise a very clear statement of the 
essential facts relating to points 1 and 2. With evident 
wisdom, the book shows careful discrimination of these 
fundamentals from the mere ways of doing class-work. 
Devices and recipes, on the one hand, are avoided, as 
being matters of personal concern to the teacher, and, 
on the other, particular applications to specific subjects, 
as being foreign to the purpose of the book. 

It need scarcely be said, here is a rich field heretofore 
but little cultivated, and often in a commonplace way. 
The book betrays an evident familiarity with current and 
recent, no less than the older, literatures upon the sub- 
ject that is quite wholesome. The use that has been 
made of the conclusions of recent studies in physiologi- 
cal and experimental psychology and child mind must 
prove healthful to the great body of teachers who are 
doing their work out of reach of the new laboratories, 
and without personal acquaintance with the growing 
company of faithful investigators. The Bibliography 
at the close of chapter xiii. will be sufficient to di- 



x INTRODUCTION. 

rect teachers to a course of profitable reading in this 
line. 

It is noted also that the book is adapted for use in 
whatever systematic and serious study of pedagogical 
doctrine. Normal Schools, College departments of Ped- 
agogy, private secondary schools, Teachers' clubs where 
earnest continuous professional readings are undertaken, 
and Reading Circles conducted upon plans for work 
should all find this a helpful manual. 

The use of the book, it should be said, presupposes a 
fair knowledge of mind. Chapters iv. and v. are rather 
pedagogical than psychological. The treatment there, 
as elsewhere through the book, has the teacher in view, 
and allows for some insight already into the functions and 
workings of the mind. Its adaptation to a serious and 
critical study in schools and colleges is obvious. 

The work is commended as a positive and discriminat- 
ing contribution to the discussion of an important ques- 
tion, — for teachers a vital question. 



A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS 



CHAPTER I. 

WHAT EDUCATION IS. 

A FORMAL definition of education is not absolutely 
essential at the outset of our work. Nevertheless, 
one who proposes to perform any task, or to prepare 
himself to do any work, has need to form a clear and 
definite idea of the nature and extent of the work to be 
done. Without such a conception he can have no ideal, 
no distinct aim, no settled purpose. His condition is 
like that of one who should set out upon a journey with 
no definite notion of the direction in which he is to 
travel, or of the place he is to reach, or of the means 
he is to employ. 

Various Definitions. — Before considering the applica- 
tions of psychology to the practical business of the 
school-room, it will be worth our while to inquire what 
education really is, and, consequently, what teaching is. 
This inquiry is the more necessary from the fact that 
definitions given by prominent educators are exceed- 
ingly diverse, and in not a few cases apparently con- 
tradictory. To those not much accustomed to look 
below the surface of things, this diversity is often per- 
plexing and confusing. They need the help of friendly 



12 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

suggestions to enable them to discover how apparent 
contradictions may be reconciled, and how unity and 
consistency may be brought out of diversity. 

This to be expected. — A little reflection brings us to 
see that such variety of definition and description is 
exactly what might have been anticipated. It is not a 
matter of wonder or surprise, or, on the whole, even of 
regret. It is, indeed, of great advantage to the intelli- 
gent and sincere seeker after truth. 

Illustration. — Different observers, looking at the same 
natural object from different directions, receive and 
carry away impressions and mental pictures marve- 
lously unlike. Their descriptions of the object, made 
with equal faithfulness and honesty, seem to have very 
little in common. Yet each person has recorded fairly 
and truthfully what he saw from his point of view. A 
correct and complete notion of the whole object, as 
viewed from all directions and upon all sides, can be 
obtained only by combining these various and varied 
descriptions into a single one which shall embrace 
everything of importance in them all. In order to 
secure unity, consistency, and harmony* in the final 
description, omissions and modifications will sometimes 
be necessary in the original accounts, but nothing really 
essentia] will be omitted. 

Upon what the Definition depends. — In like manner, 
students of education approach the subject from differ- 
ent directions, view it in different aspects, and consider 
it with reference to different purposes and ends. Each 
writer describes what he sees, in the direction in which 
he is looking, and from the position which he occupies. 
His definition depends upon his point of observation, 
and upon the particular object which he wishes to 



WHA T EDUCA TION IS. 1 3 

accomplish, or the end which he hopes to attain. Of 
necessity, the view taken by any one individual can be 
only a partial and incomplete one. Few minds have 
such breadth and depth, such evenness of balance and 
impartiality of judgment, as to be able to grasp and to 
hold firmly and steadily all the truth relating to any im- 
portant subject, and to arrange this truth into a system 
in such a way that every part shall appear in its proper 
position, and with just the prominence to which it is 
entitled. 

This is especially true of the subject of education. 
The subject presents many and varied aspects. One 
aspect attracts and charms one class of minds, another 
aspect equally attracts and charms another class of 
minds. The philosopher looks at one aspect, the 
practical man looks at another aspect. The statesman 
takes one view and has regard to one end ; the teacher 
of morals and religion takes a different view and has 
regard to a different end. These aspects are not 
necessarily contradictory, but each man is naturally dis- 
posed to think his own view of more importance than 
any other, and occasionally some over-zealous partisan 
insists that his peculiar view is the only rational and 
reasonable one. A few quotations will show the cor- 
rectness of these statements, and also the variety of 
form in which the same ideas may be expressed. 

Results of Education upon the Individual. — The first 
definitions and statements have reference mainly to the 
results of education upon the individual. 

"The purpose of education is to give to the body and to 
the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which they 
are capable." — Plato. 



14 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

" The end of education is to render the individual as much 
as possible an instrument of happiness, first to himself, and 
next to others." — James Mill. 

" A liberal education is an education in which the indi- 
vidual is cultivated, not as an instrument towards some 
ulterior end, but as an end to himself alone ; in other words, 
an education in which his absolute perfection as a man, and 
not merely his relative dexterity as a professional man, is the 
scope immediately in view." — Hamilton. 

" Education is the process of making individual men par- 
ticipants in the best attainments of the human mind, namely, 
in that which is most rational, true, beautiful, and good." — 
Whewell. 

" Education is the harmonious and equable evolution of the 
human faculties." — Stein. 

" It has been fashionable in educational treatises, since the 
days of Pestalozzi, to define the province of education as ' The 
full and harmonious development of all our faculties.' This 
is, however, a survival of Rousseauism, and, like all survivals 
from that source, is very dangerous. It is of first importance 
to consider this definition in the light of psychology. It 
makes no discrimination among the faculties themselves. It 
ignores the great distinction between our higher and lower 
faculties, between our faculties that are means to ends above 
them, and those faculties which are ends in themselves. The 
definition ignores the distinction between man as an individual 
and man as a social whole, the state, the civil community, the 
church, the family. It fancies man the individual to be some- 
thing complete in himself and without relation to society. 
Man has two selves : one his natural self as a puny individual, 
the other his higher self, embodied in institutions. This is the 
worst defect in the definition, because it leads the thought of 
the educator away from the essential idea of education, which 
is this : Education is the preparation of the individual for 



WHA T ED UCA TION IS. 1 5 

reciprocal union with society .; the preparation of the individual 
so that he can help his fellow-men, and in return receive and 
approp?iate their help. The ' harmony ' definition is abstract ; 
this definition is concrete. Reciprocal help of social whole 
and individual, in the first place, implies both special and 
general education. To help one's fellows one must get skill 
in some useful occupation. But to be able to receive the help 
of one's fellow-men implies general education, the capacity to 
receive and appropriate the help of institutions, — the spiritual 
help of the race in science, art, literature, and moral and 
religious ideas, as well as in the matter of creature comfort." 
— W. T. Harris. 

The reply to the criticism of Mr. Harris by the 
believers in the " harmony theory " will be that 
" harmonious development" means the development 
of the powers of the soul in due proportion ; that the 
higher always and everywhere takes precedence of the 
lower ; that the lower is to be developed in subordination 
to the higher. It will also be affirmed that development 
has regard for the relations of man to society, and fits 
him " for reciprocal union with society ; " prepares him 
to help his fellow-men, and to be helped by them in 
return. The antagonism is in appearance more than 
in reality. 

Means and Agencies of Education. — The following 
definitions have reference mainly to the agencies, means, 
and instrumentalities employed in the work of edu- 
cation: — 

" Education is the process by which one mind forms another 
mind, and one heart another heart." — Jules Simon. 

" Education, in the widest sense, is a general expression 
that comprehends all the influences which operate on the 



1 6 A MANUAL OF- PEDAGOGICS. 

human being, stimulating his faculties to action, forming his 
habits, moulding his character, and making him what he is ; 
more especially, education is the training carried on consciously 
and continuously by the educator." — J. Payne. 

" Education, in the last analysis, is the influence of one 
person upon another." — Scudder. 

" Education is the culture which each generation purposely 
gives to those who are to be its successors. In a more limited 
sense, education is confined to the efforts made of set purpose to 
train men in a particular way, and more especially to the labors 
of professional educators or schoolmasters." — J. S. Mill. 

Preparation for Life. — Some definitions have in view 
almost exclusively the preparation which the writers 
believe education should give for the practical duties 
of life. The following are of this kind : — 

" I call a complete and generous education that which fits 
a man to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously all the 
offices, both public and private, of peace and war." — Milton. 

" One great end of education is to communicate to the 
pupil that sort of knowledge which is most likely to be useful 
to him in the sphere of life which Providence has assigned 
him." — Tate. 

" Education, in the most extensive sense of the word, may 
comprehend every preparation that is made in our youth for 
the sequel of our lives." — Paley. 

" Education is the preparation for complete living." — 
Spencer. 

" The proper education of to-day is a preparation for the 
duties and responsibilities of life. Our students must, there- 
fore, come out of school with the elements of high character, 
with a vigorous, healthy body and mind, able to put both hand 
and brain to work, to enter readily into sympathetic co-opera- 



WHA T EDUCA TION IS. I / 

tion with the institutions of their country and time. Practical 
accomplishments are essential to a good education, though 
they are not the whole of it. While training to the full the 
faculties of the individual, including his mechanical powers, 
and fitting him to act his part as a citizen, a home-builder, and 
a bread-winner, we must not fail to set a high value on the 
finest products of the human mind, and to give fair introduction 
to the fields of art and philosophy." — C. M. Woodward. 

Plato's Theory. — In the following extract from his 
Laws, Plato almost appears to have anticipated the 
Kindergarten and the doctrine of " learning to do by 
doing." 

" According to my view, he who would be good at anything 
must practise that thing from his youth upwards, both in sport 
and in earnest, in the particular manner which the work re- 
quires. For example, he who is to be a good builder should 
play at building children's houses ; and he who is to be a good 
husbandman, at tilling the ground. Those who have charge of 
the education of children should provide them when young 
with mimic tools, and they should learn beforehand the knowl- 
edge which they will afterwards require for their art. For ex- 
ample, the future carpenter should learn to measure or apply 
the line in play ; and the future warrior should learn riding, or 
some other exercise, for amusement ; and the teacher should 
endeavor to direct the children's inclinations and pleasures, by 
the help of amusement, to their final aim in life. The soul of 
the child, in his play, should be trained to that sort of excel- 
lence in which, when he grows to manhood, he will have to be 
perfected." 

Sources of a Definition. — Combining, as far as possible, 
the truths expressed in these various definitions, and 
considering what the human being is at the beginning 
of life, what he is at the period of full maturity,' and how 



1 8 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

he passes from one condition to the other, we may 
determine, with sufficient definiteness, what education is 
as a process on the part of the child, what the end to 
be attained is, what the agencies to be employed are, 
and what the work of the teacher is. 

At the Beginning of Life. — In body the young child is 
a typical representative of weakness and helplessness. 
It is utterly unable to provide for any one of its numer- 
ous wants. A single instinctive act, absolutely necessary 
for the support of animal life, is all it has physical power 
to perform. 

In mind the child is as feeble as in body. At first 
it shows little evidence of intelligence. The senses act 
very imperfectly. The thinking and reasoning powers 
hardly give signs of existence. No feelings are mani- 
fested higher than those exhibited by the young of 
the lower animals. The will is powerless to control the 
movement of a single muscle, or to give direction to the 
simplest form of mental activity. Language, other than 
that of inarticulate sounds and cries indicative of physi- 
cal discomfort, is altogether wanting. Such is the human 
being at the beginning of life, — a scarcely conscious 
germ of humanity. 

At Maturity. — By and by this weak, helpless, ignor- 
ant, half-conscious child appears in the full maturity 
of perfected manhood or womanhood. In the body, 
strength, beauty, grace manifest themselves. The mind 
has become grander and more admirable than the body. 
Every sense seems animated with a life of its own. The 
material of knowledge is gathered in through all the 
gateways of the soul, and transformed into the bread of 
mental life. The man perceives, remembers, imagines, 
judges, reasons, with a rapidity quite beyond compre- 



WHAT EDUCATION IS. 1 9 

hension. He possesses untold wealth of conscious feel- 
ings. He loves, hates, hopes, fears; experiences all 
degrees of pleasure and pain, of joy and sorrow; is 
touched and moved by the beautiful, the grand, the sub- 
lime. The will has gained complete mastery over the 
whole complex mechanism of both body and soul. He 
turns himself and all his energies in whatever direction 
and toward whatever object he pleases. He has acquired 
language addressed to the eye, to the ear, to the hand, 
by which all his thoughts, feelings, plans, and purposes 
can be made intelligible to others. 

Man from the Child. — The child and the man seem, to 
the hasty observer, to have little in common. Yet the 
man has, in some way, grown out of the child ; he is 
the child brought to full maturity. Whatever appears 
in the man existed, in germ and possibility, in the weak, 
helpless child. The germs, the possibilities, have been 
unfolded, expanded, developed. The body and the soul 
have shared alike in this wonderful evolution and trans- 
formation. 

Training. — In connection with this development, and 
as a necessary part of it, the powers of the child have 
been trained by constant exercise. An inborn impulse 
compelled appropriate activity. Pleasure came from 
action, and the action was repeated over and over again. 
Repetition produced habit and skill. Thus the man has 
been fitted for " complete living," and is able " to per- 
form justly, skilfully, and magnanimously all the offices, 
both public and private," which belong to him in all the 
various relations of life. He is prepared " to help his 
fellows and be helped by them." 

Knowledge acquired. — While passing through these 
processes of development and training, the child has 



20 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

been constantly acquiring knowledge. The acquisition 
of knowledge has been, indeed, a necessary condition 
of the development and training of the mind. It has 
served as means to an end. Without the material of 
knowledge there could have been no mental activity; 
and without such activity there could have been no 
production of habit or skill. But in addition to the 
value and use of knowledge as the necessary and only 
means of securing development and training, it is also 
valuable for practical purposes. It is essential to prep- 
aration for " complete living," and to the right and wise 
performance of the duties of social, civil, and business 
life. No serious antagonism exists between the knowl- 
edge demanded for culture and that required for the 
successful management of every-day affairs. 

What Education includes. — From the brief study of 
the child and the man, and of the processes by which 
the one has been transformed into the other, we 
reach the conclusion that a complete education must 
include at least three things : — 

I . The proper and complete development of the child. 
Development consists in bringing out into the highest 
possible state of perfection all those powers and capa- 
cities which at first exist as mere germs and possibilities 
in the child. The physical, intellectual, and moral 
powers share alike in this process. The lower elements 
of our complex nature are always kept in proper rela- 
tion and in due subordination to the higher, and the 
child thus becomes the most and best of which he is 
susceptible. Development of this sort results in strength 
and symmetry ; no one part or power is perfected by 
dwarfing or neglecting another. Childhood is ripened 
into complete manhood. 



WHAT EDUCATION IS. 21 

2. The thorough training of the child. By training is 
meant moulding, fashioning, forming by wisely directed 
and long-continued activity, by such practice as affords 
appropriate exercise to every power, both of body and 
soul. Necessary acts and processes are repeated until 
they can be performed with the greatest possible accu- 
racy and readiness and with the least possible conscious 
effort. Training results in habit, dexterity, easy and 
graceful movement, and in practical skill in doing what- 
ever needs to be done. 

3. The acquisition of knowledge. Mental development 
and training can go on only on condition of the acqui- 
sition of knowledge, of the reception of material upon 
which the psychical activities may exercise themselves. 
The mind is not " first formed, and then informed," or 
furnished. The forming and fashioning and furnishing 
proceed together. The process is complex, and at the 
same time simple ; it is difficult to describe, but easy to 
understand. This acquisition will include that knowl- 
edge which will be of service to the child when trans- 
formed into a man, and which will be useful to the 
community and to the state of which he is a member. 
The acquisition of knowledge will result in intelligence, 
in acquaintance with one's self, and with the best of 
everything which the world has to offer in science and 
art, in history and literature. 

The result of all will be an education which prepares 
" the individual for reciprocal union with society ; " such 
a preparation that " he can help his fellow-men, and in 
return receive and appropriate their help." 

These points include the essentials of a complete edu- 
cation, both theoretical and practical. They are neces- 
sary to the best result. But it should be remembered 



22 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

that, first and chiefest of all, the child is to be made into 
a man or a woman in the highest sense of these words, 
— a man or woman in body, mind, heart. Of such 
men and women the world has great need. 

FOR READING. 

White's Elements of Pedagogy, Introduction. 

Compayre's Lectures on Teaching, chapter i. 

Bain's Education as a Science, chapter i. 

Rosenkranz's Philosophy of Education, Introduction and 
Part I. 

Davidson's Aristotle and Ancient Educational Ideals, 
Book I. Introductory. 

Barnard's Journal of Education, vol. xi. pp. 13-20; vol. 
xiii. pp. 7-16. 

Joseph Payne's Lecture on the Science and Art of Edu- 
cation, and on the Theory of Education. 

Laurie's Institutes of Education, Introduction, and Lec- 
tures I. and II. 

T. J. Morgan's Studies in Pedagogy, chapter i. 



CHAPTER II. 

VARIETIES OF EDUCATION. 

Divisions of the Subject. — The complex process 
through which the child passes in reaching full develop- 
ment and maturity forms one harmonious, consistent, 
and beautiful whole. Nevertheless, for purposes of study 
it admits of separation into several convenient and natural 
divisions. The work of each division has certain char- 
acteristics of its own, and is carried on by means and 
agencies, in many respects, peculiar to itself. Hence 
we have what may be called varieties of education. It 
should, however, be distinctly understood that all these 
varieties are only parts of one great whole; and it 
should also be kept constantly in mind that this whole 
cannot be complete without the combination, in due 
proportion, of all these parts. If one variety is crowded 
partially or entirely out, and another variety is allowed 
to occupy more time and attention than it is rightfully 
entitled to, the development must be wanting in symme- 
try, and the education must be one-sided. It is necessary 
to give a little consideration to each of these varieties of 
education, in order to determine as clearly as possible 
the province and work of schools and teachers. 

I. Physical Education. 

Purposes. — Physical education has reference primarily 
to the proper development and training of the body. 
Somewhat less obviously and directly, it has to do with 



24 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

the development and training of the mind, and with the 
giving and receiving of instruction. Modern studies 
in physiology and psychology reveal a most intimate 
connection between physical conditions and psychical 
activities and states. The idea of a necessary and 
perpetual antagonism between the body and the soul is 
no longer accepted by intelligent students of human 
nature. The combination of " a sound mind in a sound 
body" gives us the ideal man. It is coming to be more 
and more recognized that a well-formed, symmetrically 
developed, healthy, and vigorous physical organism 
furnishes the best possible foundation for the most 
productive intellectual and moral activity. 

Men have reached intellectual greatness and high 
moral excellence with feeble and deformed bodies, and 
in spite of physical weakness and suffering ; but it is only 
reasonable to presume that under more favorable condi- 
tions they would have become still greater intellectually, 
and even more excellent morally. As a rule, noble and 
generous souls do not find a home in bodies dwarfed by 
bad environment, bad training, and bad feeding. Blood 
vitiated by foul air and thinned by scanty diet of 
innutritious food cannot produce a brain capable of 
enduring hard and protracted study, and able to solve 
difficult problems either in mathematics or morals. 
Proper physical training — the training, not of an athlete, 
but of an average man — is beginning to be held in just 
esteem by both students and teachers. 

In Ordinary Schools. — It is not to be asked or expected 
that the ordinary common or high schools shall make 
a specialty of physical education. Of necessity, the 
teachers of these schools will be compelled, for the 
present, to give this a somewhat subordinate place 



VARIETIES OF EDUCATION. 2$ 

among their multifarious duties. The " signs of the 
times " indicate that the near future may raise it to the 
position which it can justly claim. 

Reasonable Demands. — Nevertheless, even now, some 
things may rightfully and imperatively be required of 
all teachers in all grades of schools. They must have 
as much as an elementary knowledge of physiology and 
hygiene, and must be acquainted with the laws of 
health as far as they relate to food, drink, clothing, 
cleanliness, and exercise. They must know when 
school buildings are properly located, arranged, lighted, 
warmed, and ventilated, and when seats and desks are 
of right form and height. 

Schools and teachers . cannot be held guiltless if 
stooping shoulders, hollow chests, pale cheeks, defective 
eyes, and general debility and listlessness are common 
results of their arrangements and management. The 
very least that can be demanded of schools and teachers, 
from the primary grade to the university, is that they 
shall do no harm to the bodies of the children and 
youth committed to their care. 

Herbert Spencer. — There is practical wisdom as well 
as historic truth in these words of Herbert Spencer : 

" In primitive times, when aggression and defence were the 
leading social activities, bodily vigor with its accompanying 
courage were the desiderata, and their education was almost 
wholly physical ; mental cultivation was little cared for, and, 
indeed, as in our own feudal ages, was often treated with con- 
tempt. But now that our state is relatively peaceful, now 
that muscular power is of use for little else than manual labor, 
while social success of nearly every kind depends very much 
on mental power, our education has become almost exclusively 
mental. Instead of respecting the body and ignoring the 



26 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

mind, we now respect the mind and ignore the body. Both 
of these conditions are wrong. We do not yet sufficiently 
realize the truth that, as in this life of ours the physical un- 
derlies the mental, the mental must not be developed at 
the expense of the physical. The ancient and modern 
conceptions must be combined." 

Marion. — There is a large measure of truth in this 
extract from F. Marion : — 

" Physical perfection serves to assure moral perfection. 
There is nothing more tyrannical than an enfeebled organism. 
Nothing sooner paralyzes the free activity of the reason, the 
flight of the imagination, and the exercise of the reflection, 
nothing sooner dries up the sources of thought, than a sickly 
body whose functions languish and for which every effort is a 
source of suffering. Then have no scruples ; and if you would 
form a soul which is to have ample development, a man of 
generous and intrepid will, a workman capable of great un- 
dertakings and arduous labors, first, and above all, secure 
a vigorous organism, of powerful resistance and muscles of 
steel." 

II. Intellectual Education., 

Intellectual education includes the proper and sym- 
metrical development of all the powers of the mind, and 
the cultivation or training of these powers to the highest 
attainable degree of perfection. It necessarily involves 
the acquisition of knowledge and the formation of 
habits. To a large extent it fashions and furnishes the 
soul ; but the two processes cannot be separated. The 
soul is formed only as it is supplied with material of 
knowledge from without, upon which it exercises its 
powers, and out of which it builds itself up by its spon- 
taneous activity. 



VARIETIES OF EDUCATION. 27 

Intellectual education may be general and liberal, 
having regard chiefly, though not exclusively, to the 
perfection of the individual and to his personal enjoy- 
ment; or it may be special and professional, having 
particular regard to the interests of the community, and 
to the service which the individual may render to his 
fellows. As intellectual education is the main business 
of the schools, it will receive more consideration further 
on in our work. 



III. Moral Education. 

Purpose. — The purpose of moral education is to secure 
right conduct on the part of men and women in all the 
relations which they may sustain in life, — right conduct 
in the family, in the school, in the community, and in the 
state. In order to secure such conduct, it is necessary 
that men be intelligent, — that is, that they know right 
from wrong; it is also necessary that they have a dispo- 
sition to choose the right in preference to the wrong. 

Substance of Moral Education. — The moral education 
of the young, therefore, must consist essentially in 
making them intelligent in respect to responsibilities, 
obligations, duties, and rights, and in making them 
disposed to 'recognize and accept responsibilities, to 
meet obligations, to do all known duties, and to have 
regard for their own rights and the rights of others. 
In this place we are not considering how this work may 
be done. We are only seeking to discover what the 
work really is, and to inquire whether it should be 
attempted by teachers in the public schools. 

Obstacles. — Candor compels the admission that there 
-are real obstacles in the way of giving efficient moral 



28 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

instruction and training in public schools. The religious 
obstacle presents itself first, and is the most formidable. 
It is believed by many that no productive moral instruc- 
tion can be given without at the same time giving 
religious instruction. In their minds, morals and reli- 
gion are inseparably bound together; and to them 
religion consists mainly of the " dogmas and practices " 
of some particular body of Christians. If this be true, 
there is no alternative, and further discussion is useless. 
Moral teaching in the schools is an impossibility; for 
it is generally agreed that religion, in the ordinary sense 
of the word, shall not be taught in schools supported by 
the state. 

For considerable time there has been a disposition on 
the part of those charged with the management of pub- 
lic educational affairs to accept this conclusion. Little 
moral instruction of any sort has been provided for. 
The whole matter has been relegated to the home, the 
church, and the street. 

Results. — The results, so far as they have appeared, 
have not been such as to commend the wisdom of this 
course. It is pretty generally acknowledged that in- 
telligence alone does not insure right conduct. An 
acquaintance with the higher mathematics does not 
make it certain that the accounts of the book-keeper 
will be kept correctly and honestly. A knowledge of 
science, history, and literature does not guarantee truth- 
fulness, fidelity, and a nice sense of honor, either in 
public or private life. Without doubt, a high degree of 
intellectual culture and refinement has a direct influence 
in banishing many of the lowest and most debasing 
forms of vice and crime, but, in the absence of moral 
principle, it introduces and fosters other forms. 



VARIETIES OF EDUCATION. 29 

The Demand. — An increasing demand for practical and 
efficient moral instruction and training is making itself 
felt in many quarters. If existing institutions and 
agencies cannot meet and satisfy this demand, others 
will be created. The conviction that something must 
be done has led to serious inquiry as to the possibility 
of providing for instruction in practical ethics in the 
public schools, without teaching the subject of religion 
in such a way as to trespass upon the rights of even the 
most sensitive conscience. It is believed by many 
earnest friends of the schools that this is practicable. 
Some attempts have been made by various writers to 
show how this may be accomplished. 

A discussion of specific methods of ethical instruction 
does not fall within the limits of our immediate purpose 
at this point. The inquiry here is only as to the desira- 
bility and practicability of such instruction, and its 
general character. 

Standpoint of Instruction. — It is evident that moral in- 
struction cannot be given in the public schools from a 
religious standpoint. It is insisted, for obvious reasons, 
that positive requirements in respect to studies and in- 
struction in all educational institutions supported by the 
state must be purely secular. We must, consequently, 
either accept the conclusion that instruction in ethics 
cannot be given in such schools, or assume that 
morality and morals can be taught " in complete sepa- 
ration from religion and theology." Recognizing fully 
the serious practical difficulties to be encountered, we 
nevertheless adopt this assumption with a fair degree 
of confidence. 

The truth is, that the conduct of most men is not very 
largely influenced by their theories in relation to the 



30 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

origin of the moral law, or in respect to the sanction by 
which its requirements are to be enforced. There is 
general agreement as to practical morality ; that is, as to 
how men should behave, and how they should conduct 
themselves in the family, in society, in business rela- 
tions, and as citizens of the state. It is with conduct 
that we are concerned in the schools, and not with theo- 
ries of morals. 

Testimony. — " When, then, we have in mind as a subject 
for public school instruction, not the science of ethics, not the 
speculations of moral philosophers, but the orderly presenta- 
tion of the common facts and laws of the moral life which no 
one in his senses disputes, we perceive how the religious or 
theological difficulty at once disappears, to a large degree." — 
Nicholas Paine Gilman. 

" We have seen that we cannot teach religion in the public 
schools. Must we, therefore, abandon altogether the hope of 
teaching the elements of morals? Is not moral education 
conceded to be one of the most important, if not the most 
important, of all branches of education? Must we forego the 
splendid opportunity afforded by the daily schools for this pur- 
pose? Is there not a way of imparting moral instruction 
without giving just offence to any religious belief or any 
religious believer, or doing violence to the rights of any sect 
or of any party whatsoever? The correct answer to this 
question would be the solution of the problem of unsectarian 
moral education. The answer, as I conceive it, is this : It is 
the business of the moral instructor in the school to deliver to 
his pupils the subject-matter of morality, but not to deal with 
the sanctions of it ; to give his pupils a clearer understanding 
of what is right and what is wrong, but not to enter into the 
question why the right should be done and the wrong avoided. 
. . . He is not to explain why we should do the right, but to 



VARIETIES OF EDUCATION. 3 1 

make the young people who are entrusted to his charge see 
more clearly what is right, and to instil into them his own love 
of and respect for the right. There is a body of moral truth 
upon which all good men, of whatever sect or opinion, are 
agreed. It is the business of the public schools to deliver to 
their pupils this common fund of moral truth." — Felix Adler. 

Intuitions. — It should be said that those of us who 
believe the ideas of right and justice to be among 
the intuitions of the human soul may, without offence, 
appeal for a sanction of much of our moral instruction 
to the understanding and conscience of the pupil him- 
self. Without argument, every sane and properly con- 
stituted mind feels and acknowledges that it is right to 
tell the truth and to act honestly and justly, and that to 
speak or act otherwise is wrong. 

IV. Industrial Education or Manual Training. 

Criticisms on Schools. — The complaint has been repeat- 
edly made, in some quarters, that the education of our 
schools creates in the pupils an aversion to those em- 
ployments which require manual labor. It is affirmed 
also that scholars go out from the schools positively 
unfitted, in body and mind, for the practical duties 
which their circumstances require of them, and that, in 
consequence, they become unproductive and useless 
members of the community. Such persons are con- 
stantly pushing themselves into the lower ranks of pro- 
fessions which are already overcrowded, and for which 
they have no natural or acquired adaptation. 

Demands. — It is for this reason demanded that a 
closer connection shall be established between the 
instruction and training of the schools and the real 



32 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

business and industries of actual life. It is said that 
pupils should be taught, to some extent at least, what 
they are to practise after they leave school, should 
learn as much as the rudiments of some of the most 
common trades and arts. A portion of the school time 
should be taken from books and recitations and given to 
the acquisition of manual dexterity and mechanical skill. 

Obstacles. — It is conceded that this demand has some 
substantial basis, but it involves several grave consider- 
ations. Among these is the question of expense. This 
alone will prove a formidable obstacle in the way of 
introducing anything which can be properly called 
manual or industrial training into the common schools, 
or into the schools of villages and small cities. In 
large cities, and in many of moderate size where con- 
ditions are favorable, institutions will be established for 
instruction and training both in the mechanical and 
fine arts. Many such have already been founded, and 
the number will, without doubt, increase. All friends 
of education will favor the opening of schools of this 
kind where they can be adequately supported. 

It still remains to be determined exactly what and 
how much shall be included under the term " Industrial 
and Manual Training," or what estimate shall be put 
upon its value. That it has great value will not be 
questioned. The claims made by some of its enthusi- 
astic advocates may be surely called extravagant. It 
will accomplish much good, but it will not immediately 
introduce an educational millennium. 

Opinions. — " The aim of the Manual Training School is 
not to turn out finished products, like the factory. It finishes 
no article for the market, except its systematically trained 



VARIETIES OF EDUCATION. 33 

boys and girls. Its whole object is educational. Its great 
aim is to develop systematically both the mental and physical 
capacities of every pupil. While doing this, it indirectly ele- 
vates the whole plane of industrial activity, inculcating in the 
youthful mind a higher respect for labor and the laboring 
man." — H. W. Compton, Toledo, Ohio. 

" It is already proven that the Manual Training School has 
a tendency to keep boys in the High School. Too many 
bright boys leave school and go to work at an early age, not 
because they are lazy, but because the desire to be doing 
something, to be a part of the great business world, over- 
powers their inclination for strictly book knowledge. Give 
such boys an opportunity to work off this surplus energy in 
the shop and draughting- room, where they can feel themselves 
employed, and you will have High School classes graduating 
something like an equality of members between the sexes. 
Many boys who have gained a certain amount of information 
— information enough to begin to appreciate how much there 
is to learn — will desire more knowledge ; and we shall see 
more of the right class of young men at polytechnic schools, 
preparing themselves to apply the arts and sciences to the 
practical world," — G. S. Mills. 

" Manual training, in the strict sense of the term, would 
mean simply the training of the hand ; but as currently used 
with reference to education, the words indicate such employ- 
^ment of the hand as will at the same time train the eye to 
accuracy and the mind to attention. The scientific element, 
or the teaching of sciences pure and simple, is not necessarily 
involved in the expression. As, however, pure science can 
scarcely be taught without looking somewhat towards its appli- 
cation, so manual training cannot be made an effective edu- 
cational process, except by constant reference to the broad 
foundation in the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences 
upon which it rests." — Legislative Commission, Penn. 

3 



34 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

" That bodily training must be associated closely with 
mental training in the production of the useful men and 
women of the future, I am more than ever firmly convinced. 
I believe that even in the immature stage in which we are 
now observing manual work, if we will look for results, not in 
the objects made by the hand, but in the character of the 
youthful worker, we shall be able to see signs of the best 
results." — Superintendent, Jamestown, N. Y. 

" It is now generally recognized that manual training is an 
important and necessary adjunct to the education of the 
schools, and that mind and eye and hand must together be 
trained in order to secure symmetrical development. Manual 
training aims at the broadest, most liberal education. While 
developing and strengthening the physical powers, it also 
renders more active and acute the intellectual faculties, thus 
enabling the pupil to acquire with greater readiness, and to 
use more advantageously, the literary education which should 
go hand in hand with manual training." — Pratt Institute, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 

" This is the difference between this school and a trade 
school : a trade school is one where some special branch is 
taught — a school where plumbing or some other special 
industry is taught. Surely, ill- fed boys of twelve and a half 
or thirteen who never saw a hammer or a chisel are not fit -to 
be set at these trades. Let them, however, go into a school, 
not where a trade is taught, but where they are taught to use 
tools, and to draw, and to continue their ordinary education, 
and when they get to be fifteen or so, — and then they are not 
too old to enter life, — what have they learned ? They have 
the foundations laid stout and deep, — the foundations of in- 
telligence and skill ; for they know the principles, not of one 
trade, but the principles that underlie many trades.* — 
Hebrew Institute, New York. 

" Manual training is founded upon the claim that it gives a 
more complete education than is afforded by the course of 



VARIETIES OF EDUCATION. 35 

instruction now followed in the schools. It undertakes so to 
modify the existing methods of training as to yield an educa- 
tion that shall make the graduate of the public school a more 
fully developed and efficient member of society. The instruc- 
tion given in the schools is too one-sided. It cultivates 
chiefly the intellectual powers, to the neglect of the physical 
and moral. Lord Bacon long ago stated the object of edu- 
cation to be ' the cultivation of a just familiarity betwixt the 
mind and things.' No better definition of the office of the 
teacher could be given. To a very large extent, the schools 
neglect the training of those powers which bring the mind into 
true relations with its environment. Educational reformers 
for nearly three hundred years have been seeking to remedy 
this defect. The introduction of object-lessons and of science 
instruction were well-meant efforts in this direction, and 
manual training is, in fact, nothing more than the further 
extension of the same principle. It seeks to train the hand 
and eye, not for the purpose of superseding the action of 
the mind, but as the efficient agents of the mind in gain- 
ing a truer and ampler knowledge of the world." — James 
McAlister. 

FOR READING. 

Compayre*'s Lectures on Teaching, chapters ii. and iii. 

Rosenkranz's Philosophy of Education, Second Part. 

Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1888-89, vo1 - *•> 
pp. 592-610. 

Monographs of the Industrial Education Association, 1888- 
1890; topic: Manual Training, etc. 

Spencer's Education, chapters ii., iii., and iv. 

Huxley's Essays. Science and Education. Lectures iv. 
and xvi. 

T. J. Morgan's Studies in Pedagogy, chapter ii. 



CHAPTER III. 

MATTER AND DIRECTION OF OUR PRESENT STUDY. 

Definition. — From what has preceded, we reach the 
conclusion that general education may be defined as 
the symmetrical development and proper training of 
the whole human being. Special or professional edu- 
cation may be defined as development and training in 
some particular direction and for some special purpose. 
The process, whether general or special, necessarily 
includes the giving of instruction on the part of the 
teacher, and the acquisition of knowledge on the part 
of the pupil. 

Regard for the Best in Man. — Due regard will always 
be had to the higher elements in human nature. The 
lower will be kept in proper subordination to the higher, 
and will be cultivated with reference to the service which 
they can render in bringing the whole man to the high- 
est attainable state of perfection. In not a few cases, 
inherited peculiarities will need to be partially or, if pos- 
sible, completely eradicated. Other traits will demand 
careful attention and fostering care, in order to render 
the character truly symmetrical. The teacher will re- 
cognize the fact that ordinary human nature, as found 
in the schoolroom, is not altogether of the ideal type. 

Regard for the Interests of Society. — Training, both 
general and special, will have regard to the interests 



MATTER AND DIRECTION OF STUDY. 37 

and legitimate demands of society and the state, as 
much as to the perfection and good of the individual. 
The truth will be kept in mind that the individual man, 
whether savage or civilized, is not complete in himself. 
He must, consequently, be educated to give and to 
receive; must be prepared so " that he can help his 
fellow- men, and in return receive and appropriate their 
help." This will be the natural result of true develop- 
ment and right training. 

Matter of Study. — Accepting these general statements 
as to the substance of education, we have next to in- 
quire what education offers as matter for study on the 
part of one preparing to teach. This is necessary, in 
order that our work may take definite form and direc- 
tion, and that time and energy may not be wasted. We 
shall assume that there is a science of education, with- 
out assuming that the science has yet taken complete 
and permanent form, or that it is at present susceptible 
of satisfactory definition. 

Education as a Science. — It will be allowable to define 
education provisionally as the science which treats of 
the right development, training, and instructing of the 
human being. This definition, however, is of little 
value to our work. It is important to understand what 
branches of study the science must include. It will be 
safe to say that it must embrace all subjects which relate 
to the nature of the being to be educated, the processes 
to be employed, and the means to be used. Within the 
narrowest limits it will include : — 

Study of the Human Being. — (l) A knowledge of the 
human being; that is, first, a knowledge of the body, 
especially of those organs which serve as avenues of 
communication between the mind and the outer world; 



3$ A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

and, second, a knowledge of the powers, capacities, and 
modes of activity of the soul, as far and as fully as these 
can be known. 

Laws of Development, etc. — (2) A knowledge of the 
laws relating to the growth, development, and training 
of the human being; that is, a knowledge of the con- 
ditions under which the processes of development and 
training, both of body and mind, are best carried on, 
and under which the various modes of psychical activity 
exhibit their greatest vigor and productiveness. 

Knowledge of Means, etc. — (3) A knowledge of the 
means, methods, and appliances by which the work of 
the teacher in helping to develop, train, and instruct his 
pupils can be made most effective. 

Study of the Body : Physiology. — Consequently, the 
student of the science of education must begin with a 
study of the body ; must have at least an elementary 
knowledge of physiology and hygiene ; must know how 
to give the physical organism proper development and 
training, and to keep it in a healthy and vigorous con- 
dition. Especially must he be acquainted with the ner- 
vous system, and its relation to the phenomena of mind. 
The connection between the action of the nerves and 
some modes of psychical action is so intimate that the 
one must be understood in order to interpret the other. 

Study of Mind : Psychology. — The study of the body 
prepares the way for an intelligent study of the mind. 
The student must master as much as the elements of psy- 
chology. The ordinary teacher will not be greatly prof- 
ited in his work in the school by the study of psychology 
simply as a profound science. It is rather practical 
psychology that he needs, — psychology that begins 
with the study of self, with an examination and inter- 



MATTER AND DIRECTION OF STUDY. 39 

pretation of one's own psychical life, with the activities 
of one's own soul as manifested in consciousness. Start- 
ing with this knowledge of self, he is prepared to study- 
psychology by observation of children, but not of chil- 
dren exclusively. The activities of more mature minds 
offer a wide field for most profitable study. The world 
of living men and women presents an open book to him 
who has learned to read it. 

Compayr^. — M. Compayre says : — 

" Just as inward observation is the basis of scientific re- 
searches into human nature, so it ought to remain the prin- 
cipal instrument for the teaching of psychology. Of all the 
sciences, psychology is the one which is best adapted to be 
taught by the same method by which it was discovered, — by 
a perpetual return of man upon himself. But it is also proper 
not to neglect the other sources whence may be drawn a more 
complete knowledge of human nature. The teacher of psy- 
chology, while inviting the pupil to observe himself, will also 
lead him to observe his comrades and men in general. If it 
is not really possible to penetrate directly into the conscious- 
ness of his fellows, he may at least divine their thoughts and 
emotions through gestures and signs, — the language, in a 
word, which expresses them. 

" Psychology, properly so called, the object of profound phil- 
osophic research, is one thing ; while the psychology for school 
use, the psychology that is taught, is quite another. The 
teacher of psychology will, then, recollect at the very start that 
in the science which he teaches there is a choice to be made 
between discussions that are merely scholarly, or knotty, useless 
facts, trifling details, and really useful questions which are of 
practical interest, and which at the same time, by their sim- 
plicity and clearness, are within easy comprehension of younger 
minds. Even these questions he will not profess to fathom or 



40 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

to exhaust ; he will not discuss them as a scholar who ventures 
to the very limits of his researches, but he will make them as 
light as possible to his pupils, and will grasp only their sub- 
stance, their essential points. In a word, he will recollect that 
he is not a thinker who is toiling and speculating for the ad- 
vancement of pure science, but a teacher who selects, who 
appropriates, who simplifies scientific notions for the instruc- 
tion of his pupils." 

Logic. — The study of psychology naturally leads to 
the study of certain related sciences, a knowledge of 
which is necessary to the student of education Among 
these is logic. Hamilton regards this as " only a frag- 
ment of the general science of mind," treating of the 
laws of thought. 

The study of psychology proper makes us acquainted 
with the thinking activities and with their general na- 
ture. Logic makes us acquainted more specifically with 
the* modes in which these activities manifest themselves, 
with the directions which they naturally take, or, in a 
word, with the substance and forms of thinking and 
reasoning. 

It is to be remembered, however, that the logic which 
will profit ordinary students of education is not the pro- 
found science, with its subtle distinctions and its caba- 
listic formulas, but rather logic of a simpler and more 
practical character, partaking more of the nature of art 
than of science. It will consist largely of inferences 
and deductions from facts gathered from careful and 
repeated observation and analysis of one's own psychi- 
cal processes, and also from watching and studying the 
early attempts of children to draw inferences, to make 
deductions, and to arrive at conclusions by incipient 
processes of thinking and reasoning. 



MATTER AND DIRECTION OF STUDY. 4 1 

The child does not consciously learn the processes of 
induction and deduction. The mind moves sponta- 
neously in certain directions as soon as there is occasion 
for such movement. It moves because it cannot help 
moving ; it acts in a certain way because, from its very 
constitution, it cannot do otherwise. The so-called laws 
of thinking are only more or less formal statements of 
the modes in which the mind naturally manifests its 
power of connected and consecutive thinking. The 
logic which the teacher of the common school needs to 
understand consists mostly of laws of this sort, and of 
practical suggestions as to their application in the 
schoolroom and in the class. 

The teacher will use his logic to the greatest advan- 
tage by leading his pupil to recognize the fact that quite 
unconsciously he is conforming to the laws of logic in 
his every-day work. When the pupil's attention is 
directed to the matter, he readily discovers that his 
thinking expresses itself in the form of propositions, or 
sentences ; that these propositions consist of two parts, 
which he has been accustomed to name subject and pred- 
icate. A little further examination enables him to see 
that each expresses an idea, or notion, and that his 
thinking, in substance, consists in comparing these ideas, 
and deciding as to their agreement or disagreement. 
If they agree, he unites them ; the union being effected, 
in many cases, by employing some form of the copula 
verb " to be," and the separation by inserting " not," or 
some other word of negation. In logic, such decisions 
are named "judgments." When ideas are united, they 
are called "affirmative judgments"; when disunited, 
" negative judgments." Other divisions and subdivi- 
sions may be taught, if circumstances make it desirable. 



42 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

The object here, as previously stated, is not to give an 
outline of logic, but only to suggest the kind of logic 
which will be of most value in the ordinary school- 
room. 

The comparison of ideas, resulting in the formation 
of separate and unrelated judgments, is naturally followed 
by the comparison of connected and related judgments, 
resulting in the formation of new judgments. This mode 
of thinking is called " reasoning." In form, it is the 
comparison of judgments; in substance, it is the process 
of getting new knowledge by the proper arrangement 
and use of knowledge already acquired. The pupil will 
recognize this when his attention is directed to his ob- 
servations and experiments, and to his own psychical 
processes., For instance, the child smells a rose, and 
says this rose has an agreeable odor ; he does the same 
with another, and still others ; until finally he affirms that 
all roses have an agreeable odor. This is an example 
of what he is constantly doing in his dealings with the 
objects about him. It is the form of the child's earliest 
reasoning, since his first notions are of individuals. 
This is called " induction," — a process by which the 
mind proceeds from particular cases to general conclu- 
sions, and from individual objects to classes. 

In this form of reasoning, the pupil is peculiarly liable 
to fall into errors, by drawing his conclusions or making 
his inferences from an examination of too few individ- 
ual cases or objects. For illustration, one apple is 
tasted, and another, and several others, by a child un- 
acquainted with apples. These specimens happen to be 
all sour; hence the child announces the conclusion that 
all apples are sour. By and by a sweet apple is tasted, 
and the previous conclusion has to be revised and cor- 



MATTER AND DIRECTION OF STUDY. 43 

rected, in consequence of the extension of his observa- 
tion and the increase of his knowledge. 

The mind, having reached general truths and the idea 
of classes by the inductive process, naturally and spon- 
taneously reverses the direction of its movement, and 
proceeds to apply its general truths to new particu- 
lar cases, and to group new individual objects into the 
classes already formed. In this way, each new acquisi- 
tion takes its place among previous acquisitions, and the 
whole mass of knowledge, as it accumulates, becomes 
systematically arranged and consolidated. This process 
is known as " deduction," and consists in applying 
general truths to special cases, and in gathering large 
numbers of similar individuals together under one 
common name. 

These two processes are equally spontaneous, and are 
complementary one of the other. The judgments em- 
ployed may be arranged in a regular order, forming 
what is called " the syllogism ; " but this does not find 
large place in the work of the ordinary schoolroom. 
Illustrations of syllogisms and their uses may be found 
in any elementary logic. The present purpose is to 
indicate some of the advantages which the teacher will 
derive from an acquaintance with the modes of the 
mind's spontaneous movements in the processes of 
thinking and reasoning. It is unnecessary to teach the 
processes. It is the business of the instructor to guide 
the pupil, to some extent, in the performance of these 
natural psychical acts, and to guard him against imma- 
ture and hasty conclusions, and against the danger of 
cheating himself, or of being cheated by others, by 
means of fallacies of various kinds. 

Ethics. — Another of these related sciences is ethics, 



44 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

which treats of right character and right conduct. 
While the teacher should be intelligent enough to have 
some acquaintance with ethical theories, he is chiefly 
concerned with practical ethics, or morals. The duties 
and obligations of every-day life fall within the scope of 
school instruction. It will not be necessary to investi- 
gate and discuss the ultimate basis of moral distinctions 
in order to determine that children should be obedient 
at home and in the school ; that all men everywhere 
should yield obedience to lawful authority, should speak 
the truth, should be honest and just in their dealings 
with one another, and should abstain from violence 
and wrong-doing. Sufficiently imperative sanctions for 
good conduct are found in the common-sense of man- 
kind, in the teachings of human experience, and most of 
all in the intuitions of the human soul. It is not neces- 
sary to prove to a pupil, by an appeal to abstract princi- 
ples or to divine commands, that he ought not to lie, or 
steal, or cheat, or do personal harm to his companions. 
An appeal to his own intuitive perceptions of right is 
all that the case requires. 

What the teacher especially needs to know is how to 
make such appeals most skilfully and effectively. Much 
may be learned from the study of books ; but a study 
of practical ethics in actual every-day life, where the 
inner forces which give direction to human conduct 
reveal themselves, will be more likely to lead to a dis- 
covery of the avenues by which the conscience may be 
reached most readily and surely. 

Esthetics. — The study of ethics, which treats of the 
good, naturally leads to the study of aesthetics, which 
treats of the beautiful. There is an intimate relation- 
ship between the two. It is true that beauty is not 



MATTER AND DIRECTION OF STUDY. 45 

goodness; but all goodness has in it something of 
beauty, and consequently something worthy of admi- 
ration and love. Love of the beautiful should kindle in 
the soul love of the good ; and in many cases it will 
do so, provided the good and the beautiful are rightly 
presented, and the relationship between them is made 
evident. 

A study of abstract and abstruse theories in respect 
to beauty and the beautiful will not be of much prac- 
tical value to the teacher of a common school ; but it is 
of value to such a teacher to know how to make the 
good attractive rather than repulsive, so that it will 
appeal to the susceptibility of the beautiful in the soul 
of the child. The beauty which touches and moves the 
child must be embodied in objects or acts, in forms and 
colors, in movements of the body, in expression of the 
features, in tones of the voice. The beautiful, like the 
good, must become concrete in order to be compre- 
hended and felt ; it must be instinct with life. 

First of all, the life and character of the teacher should 
be such an embodiment of beauty. Real beauty of soul 
has power to transform, in some degree, even the face 
itself, and to render the person beautiful. There is truth 
as well as beauty in the language of Dr. Huntington in 
his essay on " Unconscious Tuition" : — 

" Can a man look otherwise than nature made him to 
look? Can he reconstruct his features? Can he resolve his 
face into beauty by a purpose? I reply, nature made his 
countenance to reflect the spirit of his life. It is a common 
maxim that some faces, plainest by the rules of classic sym- 
metry, are noble with moral dignity, and radiant with spiritual 
light. The faces we love to look at over and over again 
must be the really beautiful faces; and those are the faces 



46 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

of lovely persons. This kind of beauty, the only real kind, 
is producible. The soul, such as it is, will shine through. 
But the completeness of that transformed expression will be 
seen only where the long patience of self-control, and the 
holiest sincerity of love, and the slow triumph of unselfish 
principle, have wrought their interior work, moulding the in- 
ner man into a nobleness that the outward shape may honestly 
image." 

Power of such Beauty. — It is the science and art of 
such beauty that the teacher needs most of all to study. 
Such beauty transforms, not the face and features of 
the teacher only, but the schoolroom and its surround- 
ings, and leaves its impress upon the hearts and lives, 
upon the character and conduct, of the young who are 
so fortunate as to come within the sphere of its 
influence. 

The studies thus far considered are all very closely 
related to psychology, — are, in fact, concerned chiefly 
with an exposition of the modes in which certain powers 
and activities of the soul find expression, and in consid- 
ering some of the methods by which these powers and 
activities may be reached from without, and may be 
developed and trained to the best advantage. 

Other Studies. — Almost all other branches of study 
make connection at some point with psychology, and 
thus become of immediate service to the student of 
education. 

Language. — Language constitutes the dress in which 
thought clothes itself so as to become visible and pre- 
sentable. Consequently, laws of thinking determine 
forms and modes of expression, and embody themselves 
in the laws of grammar and rhetoric. For this reason, 
the study of grammar and rhetoric and literature leads 



MATTER AND DIRECTION OF STUDY, 47 

back and up to the study of the soul itself as manifested 
in its modes of action. 

History and Biography. — ■ The study of biography and 
history leads even more directly to the study of mind. 
" History," as M. Compayre has well said, " is nothing 
but psychology in action. Historical events are to psy- 
chology what experiments are to physics. They show 
us the human faculties acting under particular circum- 
stances, with the relief and scope given them in the 
case of certain men of exceptional force of mind and 
character." 

The psychology of history, however, is often very 
complex. The actors are numerous. The field of 
observation is wide. It is frequently a matter of ex- 
treme difficulty for historians themselves to trace and 
disentangle the individual threads of thought, motive, or 
purpose which are twisted together in the confused 
mass of events of which history treats. The psychology 
of biography is usually more simple, since its purpose 
is to present the movements of a single mind. It en- 
ables us to discover the origin of these movements, the 
motives which prompted them, the influences which 
turned them in some particular direction, and the results 
which followed. For the ordinary student, especially 
in the early stages of his progress, the psychological 
study of biography will be more profitable than a 
similar study of history. 

Second Division. — The laws relating to the growth, 
development, and training of the human being and the 
laws relating to psychological activity, which constitute 
the second division of the matter of our study, consist 
of inferences, deductions, and conclusions drawn from 
the truths and laws found in psychology and its kindred 



48 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

sciences. These will be considered in later chapters, 
and will form the basis of the discussion of the applica- 
tions of psychology to methods of instruction and to the 
general work of the teacher. This division embraces 
the subject-matter of the science of education, or peda- 
gogics, so far as this matter appears in our work. 

Third Division. — The third part — the study of ^means, 
methods, and appliances — unites itself closely with the 
second. In fact, the two can hardly be treated sepa- 
rately. The laws of teaching are simply deductions 
or inferences from the laws of development and the 
laws of psychical action. Properly formulated, they are 
brief descriptions of the processes or methods of teach- 
ing, and are essentially so many rules for the guidance 
of the instructor. They are the substance of pedagogy, 
or the art of teaching, so far as this can be made a 
matter of study apart from actual practice. 

An Art. — The simplest definition of an art is that 
which makes it consist of the processes employed to reach 
some definite end. These processes grow naturally out 
of the underlying principles of the correlated science. 
Consequently, the art of teaching may be defined as the 
practical application of the principles of the science of 
education. In simpler terms, it consists of the pro- 
cesses employed in the development, training, and 
instructing of the child. 

Methods of Learning the Art. — The student of any 
art should, if possible, first become acquainted with the 
principles of the correlated science. Having made such 
acquaintance, his complete mastery of the art will be 
best obtained by three successive steps. 

First Step. — He will first study the natural inferences 
or deductions which he has himself made, or which have 



MATTER AND DIRECTION OF STUDY. 49 

been made by more profound students, from the prin- 
ciples of the science upon which the art is based. This, 
as already implied, is little else than a study of practical 
directions or rules for the right performance of cer- 
tain processes, before the processes have been per- 
formed. At first sight this seems to be a violation of 
sound pedagogical theory. It may be urged that rules, 
in all cases, should be drawn from an investigation of 
the processes themselves after they have been several 
times repeated. In the ordinary work of the school- 
room this is generally true ; but it is not true in the 
original study of methods on the part of the teacher 
from a scientific standpoint. 

Rules of teaching derived from an examination of 
processes are empirical; no reason can be given for 
them except that they " work." Correct results are 
reached by following them; therefore they are good. 
The student of pedagogy is not satisfied with mere 
empiricism, even though it reaches desired ends. He 
seeks for rules for which the principles of science give 
adequate reasons. Such rules can be learned and their 
applications studied before observation or practice. 
Practice begins with the application of these, and rightly 
conducted experiments verify them. They direct the 
processes, and are not originally deduced from them. 

Second Step. — The second step in mastering the art of 
teaching, as in mastering any other art, consists in care- 
ful, protracted, and intelligent observations of the work 
of skilled teachers. The observation of the work of one 
novice by another novice has little value. A model 
teacher in a model school affords the best opportunity 
for profitable observation. But even observation needs 
to be directed. Careless " looking on " yields no good 

4 



SO A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

results. The observer should be taught to distinguish 
the essential from the accidental, to separate method 
from device, to look beneath the manner of the teacher 
for the real work performed. The character of the 
observation can be determined by the report which the 
observer should be required to make. 

Third Step. — The third and final step consists in 
practice teaching under proper conditions and subject 
to wise and discriminating supervision and criticism. 
" Things to be done " can be fully learned only by 
" doing them ; " but the doing should be preceded by a 
clear conception of what is to be done, and by some 
instruction in respect to the method of working. Care 
should be taken that practice in teaching does not 
degenerate into mere imitation of some model teacher. 
Imitation never produces a high degree of excellence, 
and it is fatal to anything like genuine freedom and 
ease of action. One cannot walk in the footprints 
which another has made, and retain naturalness and 
grace of movement. The general method of action may 
be adopted and, to some extent, even imitated; but the 
devices employed and all that is included under the 
somewhat indefinite term " manner " must be one's 
own. The teacher who expects to excel in his art must 
respect his own individuality in his practice work as 
well as in his thinking and speaking. 

Relations. — The relations of the science of education 
to the other sciences named, and of the art of teach- 
ing to the science of education, may be indicated as 
follows : — 

I. Basis of the Science of Education- Physiology, Psy- 
chology, Logic, Ethics, ^Esthetics, Language and Liter- 
ature, History and Biography. The study of these 



MATTER AND DIRECTION OF STUDY. 5 I 

sciences, especially the first two, is a necessary prepara- 
tion for studying the science of education. 

II. The Science of Education, or Pedagogics. This con- 
sists of general principles or truths relating to the 
human being and to the nature of knowledge deduced 
or inferred from the sciences before named, properly 
formulated and arranged. These principles may be 
called laws of mental action or laws of mind. The study 
of these is a study of the science of education. 

III. The Art of Teaching, or Pedagogy. This consists 
of inferences or deductions from the laws of develop- 
ment and the laws of mind, which are essentially rules 
or directions describing the processes of the art, and 
serving to guide the teacher in his work. The study of 
these is the first step in the study of the art of teaching. 

In the chapters following, the purpose will be to make, 
first, a very brief outline study of man, and then to con- 
sider in connection the matter belonging under the 
second and third divisions, thus uniting, as far as prac- 
ticable, an elementary study on the science of education 
with the study of the art of teaching. 



FOR READING. 

Page's Theory and Practice of Teaching, first five chapters. 

Compayre's Elements of Psychology, Introduction. 

Fitch's Lectures on Teaching, Lecture I. 

Sully's Teacher's Handbook of Psychology, chapter i. 

Rein's Outlines of Pedagogics, Part II. Theoretical Peda- 
gogics.. 

Herbart's Introduction to the General Principles of the 
Science of Education. 



CHAPTER IV. 

STUDY OF THE CHILD. 

Firsts the Body. 

AN elementary knowledge of physiology and hygiene 
is presupposed. It will, consequently, be sufficient 
for our purpose to review briefly some parts of the ner- 
vous system. The relations of this system to manifes- 
tations of mind are so intimate that the psychical can 
hardly be understood without an acquaintance with the 
physical. 

The Brain. — The brain, the great centre of the nervous 
system, appears to be the immediate organ or instru- 
ment through which the soul manifests itself and makes 
known its energies and activities. The exact nature of 
the connection between the mind and the brain remains 
an unsolved mystery. Physiological psychology thus 
far sheds no light upon this problem. Ascertained 
facts may be accepted, but theories and hypotheses are 
of little value. Brain is not mind, and neurology is not 
psychology, although at certain points they seem to touch 
each other, and the one helps to explain the other. 

The Nerves. — From the brain and spinal cord small 
threads or cords called nerves extend to all parts of 
the body. Each nerve is composed of a considerable 
number of very minute fibres closely united. The 
peculiar property of the nerves is the susceptibility of 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 53 

being excited, irritated, or impressed, together with the 
power of transmitting this excitement or impression. 
Some nerve-fibres carry inward to the brain the impres- 
sion made upon their outer ends by external objects and 
influences. These are called afferent, in-carrying or 
sensory nerves. Other fibres convey impressions or 
impulses from the brain to the various parts of the 
body. These are named efferent, out-carrying, or 
motor nerves. 

Special Nerves. — The special nerves of taste, smell, 
sight, hearing, and touch are those which most concern 
the student of mind. It is presumed that the structure 
and functions of these nerves and of the organs in which 
they terminate are generally well understood. Unlike 
the other nerves of sense, the extremities of the nerves 
of touch are widely distributed, reaching all parts of the 
body. Touch is also closely related to muscular move- 
ments, through which we get notions of weight, distance, 
form, and many others. 

The senses have often and appropriately been called 
" the gateways of the soul." Through these avenues 
the soul and the external world come into communication 
and relationship. The mind hears through the ear, 
sees through the eye, tastes and smells through the 
proper organs. Each of these special nerves, excepting 
the nerves of touch, is susceptible of only one sort of 
excitement or irritation, and is able to convey only one 
kind of impression, and consequently brings to the 
mind only one form of knowledge. 

Acquired Power. — By a most beneficent provision, 
however, if one of the senses is destroyed, the others 
can, to a considerable extent, though not fully, supply its 
place and perform its functions. Touch does wonders 



54 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

for one deprived of sight, but sight only can give us any 
real notion of color ; taste alone furnishes knowledge of 
flavors, and smell alone of odors, though these two senses 
are very closely related in their functions. It might be 
said, with much of truth, that each sense makes us 
acquainted with a world of its own, and that an addi- 
tional sense would introduce us to a new world, just as 
the loss of a sense contracts the world in which we live. 
The training of the various senses to accuracy and 
rapidity of action is an important part of the process of 
early education. When properly cultivated, they are 
not only instruments for the acquisition of the material 
of knowledge, not merely gateways opening from the 
inner world of mind out into the world of material 
things, but also sources of legitimate and exquisite 
pleasure and of rational enjoyment. 

Reservoir of Energy, etc. — The nervous system, as a 
whole, may be regarded as a reservoir for the accu- 
mulation of energy, and a complicated and beautiful 
organism for the distribution and use of this energy for 
the service of the soul. The accumulation takes place 
in the nerve-cells mainly during periods of partial or 
complete repose ; and the distribution is effected by the 
action of excitants or stimuli of various kinds. These 
may be external, exerting their influence upon the 
organs of the senses, or internal, consisting of ideas, 
emotions, volitions, which in some mysterious way 
excite the out-carrying nerves, and, indeed, the whole 
nervous apparatus. 

The Mind> or Soul. 

Explanation of Terms. — The words " mind " and 
" soul" are employed without distinction. The soul is 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 55 

the I, myself, of each individual, — that which knows and 
feels and wills. The science which treats of the soul is 
Psychology. 

Matter of Study. — Of the substance of the soul we have 
no knowledge. It is assumed to be immaterial and 
spiritual, capable of existing separate and apart from the 
body. We study, not the soul itself, but its manifes- 
tations, its states and activities. These may be called 
the phenomena of soul, or mind. 

Knowledge presupposed. — As some knowledge of ele- 
mentary psychology is presupposed, only a brief out- 
line of the psychical activities and states will be given 
here, and an effort will be made to present this outline 
in common every-day language, as far as the nature 
of the subject will permit, even at the risk of being 
regarded as unscientific. 

Begin with Self. — The study of the mind must begin 
with the study of self. Manifestations of mind in others 
can be understood and interpreted only by reference 
to one's own experiences. We discover that certain 
thoughts and feelings cause us to speak certain words, 
to do certain things, to take certain attitudes, to make 
certain movements, to exhibit certain changes of 
countenance, to present a certain general appearance. 
We conclude that these words, acts, movements, atti- 
tudes, changes, and appearances indicate the same 
thoughts and feelings in others. The influence of 
temperament, of education, of habit, of individual 
peculiarities must be taken into account in all cases. 

Study of Others. — The study of self must be supple- 
mented by the careful study of the manifestations of 
mind in our own associates, friends, neighbors, indeed 
in all with whom we come in contact. Parents and 



56 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

teachers have peculiarly favorable opportunities to 
observe the progressive development of the minds of 
children. Such observations will have practical value, 
provided they are made with sufficient intelligence and 
care, and extend over sufficient length of time and over 
a sufficient number of individuals. Considerable ac- 
quaintance with the ordinary modes of mental activity, 
with the influence of surroundings, and with individual 
peculiarities is an essential pre-requisite to profitable 
observations. 

Consciousness and Sensation. — As previously stated, the 
sensory nerves receive impressions or excitations from 
external objects, and transmit these to the brain. In 
some way the mind becomes aware of such impressions ; 
that is, it is influenced or affected by them. It is said 
to be conscious of them ; and consciousness is defined, 
or described, as the activity of mind knowing itself, and 
knowing its own states and activities ; or the necessary 
knowledge which the mind has of itself and of its states 
and activities. 

This effect upon the mind is called sensation ; and 
sensation is described as a state of mind, or a state of 
consciousness, produced by an impression made upon 
some sensory or afferent nerve. 

Each of the sensory nerves produces a sensation 
peculiar to itself, and these sensations vary in quality 
and intensity. We have consequently sensations of 
touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. A sensation of 
sight may be soft and agreeable, or it may be dazzling 
and blinding; a sensation of sound may be low and 
musical, or it may be loud and shrill. Tastes and smells 
have almost innumerable variations in character and 
intensity. 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 57 

Perception and Percepts. — Sensations are entirely sub- 
jective ; that is, they are states of soul occasioned by 
external stimuli. At first, probably, the child lives for 
a little time a mental life of sensations only. He is in 
the world and touched by it, but does not at once 
understand or interpret the touch. The soul does not 
instantly respond to the approach of the outer world. 
Very soon, however, the mind, by an impulse apparently 
spontaneous, begins to look outward, and to attribute 
sensations to their causes. It responds to the touch of 
the material world ; it becomes acquainted with things 
outside of itself; it localizes in space the causes of its 
sensations. This is perception, or, more strictly, sense- 
perception. 

Definitions. — As an activity or process, perception is 
the mind knowing immediately things external to itself. 
As a psychical power, perception is the ability of the 
mind to know immediately things external to itself. 
The complete psychical product of an act of perceiving 
is called a percept. In other words, a percept may be 
described as the mental picture, image, idea, or notion 
which the mind has of a thing or object, while the thing 
or object is present to one or more of the senses. 

Variety of Percepts. — Percepts are as various as sen- 
sations. We have percepts of sight, of hearing, and of 
all the other senses. The complete percepts of many 
objects are made up of the partial percepts, obtained 
through several of the senses, combined into one whole. 

Ideas of Space and Time. — In connection with the per- 
ception of external things by the child, and with the 
discovery of the succession of sensations in the mind 
and of changes in things outside of itself, the ideas of 
space and time appear in the soul. To understand the 



58 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

origin of these ideas, one must see clearly the distinction 
between the cause and the occasion of an event or of an 
act. An illustration will help us to see this. A person 
steals a sum of money; the cause of the theft is the dis- 
position of mind ; the occasion of the theft is the oppor- 
tunity presented for gratifying the disposition. The 
disposition causes the act when the occasion is afforded. 

Intuition. — The occasion of the appearance of the 
idea of space is the perception of external material 
things which must occupy space. The occasion of the 
appearance of the idea of time is the discovery of the 
succession of sensations and of perceptions, and the dis- 
covery of changes among external objects, which must 
occupy time. The cause of the appearance of these 
ideas is the native disposition of the soul, or, as it is 
usually called, the " intuitive power" of the soul. This 
same power recognizes the truth of axioms and self- 
evident propositions. 

Such ideas and truths are known as intuitive ideas, or 
intuitions of the mind. " Intuition " may be defined as 
the activity of the soul which gives us simple, necessary 
ideas, and simple, necessary, and self-evident truths. 

Groups of Mental Activities. — While the mind is re- 
garded as a unit, and not as a collection of comparatively 
distinct " faculties " bound together with considerable 
firmness, yet, as it exhibits a variety of modes of activ- 
ity, it is a matter of convenience, for purposes of study, 
to arrange those forms of activity which have certain 
characteristics in common into groups or classes, and to 
give these groups specific names. 

First Group. — Consciousness, sense-perception, and 
intuition have some common characteristics, and may 
consequently be grouped together under the name of 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 59 

perceptive activities, consciousness being regarded as 
inner perception, sense-perception as external percep- 
tion, and intuition as perception of simple ideas and 
truths. They all present the material of knowledge 
immediately and directly to the mind. There is nothing 
like a roundabout process in their action. 

Office of these Activities. — These activities furnish us 
the beginnings and raw material of all our knowledge. 
The higher activities of the soul cannot manifest them- 
selves until sensation and perception have supplied 
matter which memory, imagination, judgment, and the 
other activities can lay hold upon and use. 

First Step in Mental Development. — The first step in 
the psychical development of the child and in the 
process of his education must consist in the acquisition 
of power to form, with a good degree of rapidity, dis- 
tinct, vivid, and accurate percepts. For the formation 
of such percepts, sensations must be of considerable 
depth and intensity, and consciousness must be intensi- 
fied into a state which may properly be called internal 
attention. 

Other Activities. — Sensations, and the percepts which 
they occasion, must be grasped, examined, and com- 
pared ; their resemblances and differences must be 
noticed ; those which have marked differences must be 
separated, and those which have resemblances must 
be united. At this point and in this way, classification, 
in a crude and imperfect form, commences, and real 
knowledge has its beginnings in the soul. 

Necessary Conditions of Thinking. — These psychical 
processes of examining, comparing, separating, and 
uniting the material of knowledge, constitute thinking. 
In order that anything may be an object of thought, it 



60 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

must in some way be present to the mind. If the 
object is some material thing, within reach of one of 
the senses, a percept is immediately formed of it, and 
we say we are thinking of an object literally present. 
But many material objects of which we think are not 
within the grasp of our senses, and many objects of 
our thinking are not material, and do not in any way 
appeal to the senses. Even of the existence of such 
objects the mind gets no information through the organs 
of sense. Yet if they are to be thought of or about, 
they must, in effect, be present in consciousness. By 
our own experiences we know this. We think of things 
which we saw, or heard, or felt long ago. We think 
of the relations of things, of the influence of one thing 
upon another, of the actions of men, and of the probable 
motives which prompted to these acts, and of an almost 
infinite number of other things, material and immaterial. 
In all such cases there appears to be a picture, an 
image, an idea, or some sort of notion of the object of 
thought present to the mind. 

Power to retain, etc. — We thus discover that the mind 
has power to retain, to reproduce, and to re-know what 
it has once learned. It recalls former percepts ; it forms 
pictures, or images, of places and objects of which it 
hears or reads ; unites pictures and ideas into new and 
sometimes strange combinations. It is able also to 
hold all these various mental products steadily in 
consciousness, and make them objects of continuous 
thinking. 

Difficult to name satisfactorily. — It is difficult to make 
a selection entirely satisfactory from the various names 
given by different writers to this general activity of 
mind, and also to the several closely related forms of 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 6 1 

psychical activity into which the complex whole is 
usually resolved. Clear and distinct ideas of things, 
however, are of more importance than their names, and 
the following will serve our purpose. 

Representative Activity. — The ability of the mind to 
form pictures, images, ideas, or notions of things not 
present to the senses, is called the representation power, 
or the representative activity. For convenience and 
brevity, we may name this power imagination, employ- 
ing the term in a broad sense to denote the image- 
making activity of the soul. Imagination proper is 
used with a much more restricted meaning. 

Real Representation. — When the representative ac- 
tivity forms pictures or notions of things just as they 
are, or just as we suppose them' to be, it is named real 
representation. This mode of psychical activity is also 
called simple conception. The mental product of real 
representation, or simple conception, is named a simple 
concept, the limiting word " simple " being used to dis- 
tinguish concepts of this kind from general concepts, or 
ideas of classes of objects. The representative activity 
as a whole is often called conception, or the conceptive 
power of the mind, and all its mental products are 
designated, in a general way, as concepts. 

Recalled percepts are considered and named con- 
cepts, as they are obviously products of the represen- 
tative power. 

Imagination Proper. — We are conscious of another and 
very different kind of representation. Mental images, 
pictures, and ideas are grouped together and combined 
into new forms unlike any actually existing things. 
Such forms are called ideal representations. A painter 
produces an ideal landscape by combining in a single 



62 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

picture representations of objects selected from many 
different and widely separated localities, — a mountain 
from one place, a valley from another, a grove from 
another, and so on, until he has filled his canvas. The 
story writer fills his work with incidents, skilfully and 
beautifully woven together, which originally had no 
relation to each other, thus furnishing an ideal story. 

When the representative activity forms ideal products, 
it is called ideal representation, or imagination proper. 

The imagination produces ideal results also by repre- 
senting things as larger or smaller than they really are, 
thus making giants and pygmies out of ordinary men. 
By its magic power it transforms one thing into another, 
and represents persons and other living things by inan- 
imate objects to which they have no resemblance. The 
boy's stick becomes a horse ; the girl's toy-table is sur- 
rounded by a company of her playmates, with whom she 
holds long and animated conversations. 

In the School. — In the schoolroom, by the help of 
imagination, the pupil sees rivers, lakes, hills, moun- 
tains, cities, villages, railroads, and a multitude of other 
objects on the map before him, where, in fact, he sees 
only lines and marks of various kinds. 

Various Names. — Since the imagination manifests its 
wonderful power in many different directions, it has 
received various distinguishing names, designed to indi- 
cate the particular direction in which any special man- 
ifestation is made. For example, when it manifests 
itself in poetry and painting, and in other works designed 
to give pleasure and to excite the emotion of beauty, 
it is called the aesthetic imagination. When it brings 
vividly before the mind the past scenes and events, it 
is only memory, and is named the reproductive imag- 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 63 

ination. When it arranges facts and other material 
gathered by scientific investigation into the form of 
hypotheses, thus aiding in the development of science, 
it is named the constructive and scientific imagination. 

Memory. — Representation, both real and ideal, in 
many cases requires the aid of memory. Memory, as a 
power, is the ability of the mind to retain, reproduce, 
and recognize its previous acquisitions. Complete re- 
production necessarily involves representation ; that is, 
the formation of definite psychical pictures, images, or 
notions of the objects recalled. 

Laws of Association. — Experience shows us that the 
knowledge which the mind has acquired is bound 
together in some way, so that any one thing previously 
known being brought back into consciousness, other 
things immediately follow, as if one were fastened to 
another by some invisible chain. Careful examination 
reveals the fact that in all cases a relation of some sort 
exists between things thus bound together. These rela- 
tions, since they act constantly and uniformly, receive 
the name of laws of association, or suggestion. 

The most important: of these laws are: (1) the law of 
similarity; (2) the law of contrast ; and (3) the law of 
contiguity. That is : things and thoughts are associated 
because they have certain resemblances, or because 
they are the direct opposites, or because they belong 
in the same time or in the same place, or are in some 
other way closely related. The general law of con- 
tiguity embraces a large number of special relations. 
Among these are the relations of time, place, cause and 
effect, subject and attribute, signs and things signified. 

Forms of these Laws. — For convenience these laws may 
be reduced to the following brief forms: (1) Law of 



64 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

similarity, — similar things and thoughts are mutually 
suggestive. (2) Law of contrast, — contrasted things 
and thoughts are mutually suggestive. (3) Law of con- 
tiguity, — things and thoughts co-existent or imme- 
diately successive are mutually suggestive. 

Fundamental Laws. — Certain fundamental laws of 
psychical action evidently underlie all these special 
laws. Among such fundamental laws are the follow- 
ing: (1) The mind has a natural inclination or ten- 
dency to repeat any mode of activity once exercised, 
the tendency increasing with the number and frequency 
of the repetitions. (2) The presence of any part of a 
complex thing or thought, previously known, tends to 
suggest and revive the whole. 

Conditions of Mind. — Certain conditions of the mind 
and body, and some other circumstances which have 
much to do with the efficient activity of memory, are 
sometimes called secondary and subjective laws of 
association and suggestion. The most important 
of these are : (1) attention, (2) repetition, (3) lapse of 
time, (4) associated feeling, (5) state of mind and body, 
(6) individual peculiarities, and (7) employments and 
habits. 

Second Group of Activities. — The mental activities of 
real representation, or simple conception, of ideal rep- 
resentation, or imagination proper, and of memory, on 
account of the natural relationship existing between 
them, are conveniently grouped together and desig- 
nated as representative, or conceptive, and reproduc- 
tive activities. 

Thinking. — The raw material of knowledge, furnished 
by the perceptive activities, and represented and held in 
consciousness by the reproductive and conceptive activ- 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 6$ 

ities, must be examined, analyzed, sorted out, compared, 
and classified. By these processes the crude matter, 
received through the senses, is reduced to the condition 
of real knowledge. These various processes constitute 
thinking in the true sense of the word. For purposes 
of study these processes may be separated into three 
successive steps. 

General Concepts. — In order to unite objects, or 
materials of any sort, into classes, or properly related 
groups, it is necessary to have bases of classification. 
A basis is simply a standard or model with which 
individual objects are compared. Such a basis is 
formed by combining into a single complex notion 
certain characteristics or qualities which are common 
to a large number of individuals ; such a notion is 
called a general concept, and may be defined as the 
mental notion we have of a class. 

First Step. — The first step in thinking is concerned 
with the formation of general concepts. This step 
embraces three subordinate processes; the first is 
called analysis, the second abstraction, and the third 
generalization. 

Analysis. — Analysis, in this case, consists in the careful 
examination of a considerable number of similar objects 
and the separation of these into the distinct parts or 
elements of which they are composed. 

Abstraction. — Abstraction, as the term is here em- 
ployed, consists in selecting the parts or elements com- 
mon to all these objects and combining them into one 
complex notion, called, as already stated, a general 
concept. To this concept some convenient and appro- 
priate name is applied, this name being always a com- 
mon noun. 

5 



66 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Generalization. — Generalization consists essentially in 
grouping under this common name all the objects which 
possess these common parts, characteristics, or qualities. 

Conception. — The mental activities exercised in these 
processes of analysis, abstraction, and generalization, 
considered as one complex whole, receive the name of 
general conception, or the conceptive activity. 

Abstract ideas or notions are general concepts which 
embrace only a single element, characteristic, or quality. 
The ideas expressed by such words as hardness, brittle- 
ness, honesty, integrity, purity, impurity, goodness, and, 
indeed, by all abstract nouns, are of this sort. 

The formation of a general concept may be illustrated 
in a familiar way by supposing a considerable number 
of balls of various sizes, of many different colors, of 
varying degrees of elasticity and hardness, and made 
of a variety of materials, to be given to a child. With 
no clear and distinct consciousness of the processes, the 
child proceeds to analyze these balls, and to discover 
their various qualities and characteristics. He notes 
the colors, sizes, degrees of hardness^ and materials. 
In the end he perceives that the only characteristic 
common to all the balls is that of form. They are all 
round. Henceforth his notion of a ball will be that of a 
round object; this notion is a general concept, and this 
concept becomes the basis of classification for all similar 
objects. The general notion of a triangle, or of a quad- 
rilateral, or of a parallelogram may be formed in a sim- 
ilar manner. 

Second Step in Thinking: The Judgment. — The second 
stage in the thinking process consists in the examina- 
tion and comparison of objects and ideas as to resem- 
blances, differences, and relations, and in determining 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 67 

whether or not they can be united. The mental 
activity which makes such examinations, comparisons, 
and decisions is called the judgment. This is one of 
the fundamental operations of the mind, and appears to 
be involved in almost every form of psychical action. 

A Judgment. — The mental product of the act of judg- 
ing is called a judgment. A judgment expressed in 
words is a proposition. Every proposition consists of 
a subject, that of which something is said, and a predi- 
cate, that which is said of the subject. Judgments are 
called affirmative when they assert something, negative 
when they deny something. 

Third Step in Thinking. — The third and final stage of 
the thinking process is called reasoning. So far as 
form is concerned, reasoning consists essentially in the 
examination and comparison of two or more judgments, 
usually termed premises, and in the formation of 
another judgment, based upon or deduced from the 
premises, designated as the conclusion. For illustra- 
tion, all bad men are harmful to the community ; this 
person is a bad man; consequently this person must 
be harmful to the community. When the processes 
are given fully, as in this example, the reasoning is 
said to be explicit. When some parts of the process 
are omitted in the statements, being assumed to be 
understood and admitted, the reasoning is called im- 
plicit. For example, " The crop of wheat being short, 
the price of wheat will probably be high." The under- 
stood and suppressed premise here is, " Whenever the 
crop of wheat is short, the price is usually high." Most 
of our reasoning in every-day affairs is of this implicit 
sort. If our conclusions are denied or doubted, we 
proceed to make our reasoning explicit. 



68 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Induction. — Of the many varieties of reasoning de- 
scribed in works upon logic, only two or three, which 
illustrate clearly the natural and spontaneous modes 
in which the mind acts, can be considered. When one 
has examined a large number of objects of some par- 
ticular kind, and has discovered that all these objects 
have a certain peculiarity or characteristic, he cannot 
resist the conviction that all objects of this kind, 
wherever found, will probably possess the same pecu- 
liarities or characteristics. This will be true even 
though no reason can be discovered why this peculi- 
arity should exist. 

For example, if, after a careful examination of blos- 
soms from a great number of apple trees of many different 
varieties and from widely separated localities, it is found 
that every perfect blossom has five petals, the mind is 
unable to avoid the conclusion that all perfect apple- 
blossoms will have the same number, although it fails to 
discover any reason why the number should be five. In 
some cases apparent reasons can be given for the exist- 
ence of common generic peculiarities, but it is doubtful 
if this strengthens, to any appreciable extent, the con- 
viction in the mind of the universality of the peculiarity. 

Natural Tendency of the Mind. — Evidently the mind 
has a natural tendency to conclude that whatever is true 
of a considerable number of things will also be true of 
all things which agree with these in certain important 
general characteristics. This complex activity of mind 
in examining successively several individual objects, and 
inferring a general truth or law from facts observed in 
such examination, is called induction. As usually de- 
fined, induction is the process of reaching general prob- 
able truths, laws, and rules from the examination of a 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 69 

sufficient number of individual cases. This is the method 
of original investigation and discovery in the field of 
science, and is the psychical basis of the familiar peda- 
gogical maxim, " Proceed from individuals to classes, 
and from particulars to generals." 

Deduction. — After reaching and formulating general 
truths, laws, and rules, the mind has a natural tendency 
to apply these to individual objects and cases. This is 
the reverse of induction, and is named deduction, which 
may be defined as the process of applying general 
truths, laws, and rules to individual objects and to par- 
ticular cases. The validity of the conclusion in respect 
to the individual rests upon the conviction that whatever 
is true of a class must be true of every individual be- 
longing to the class. 

Induction Confirmed by Deduction. — In many cases 
induction is the only process which can be employed in 
reaching a conclusion ; generally if a good degree of 
care has been exercised in securing the result, the mind 
is satisfied and is not troubled by a feeling of doubt and 
discomfort. Yet in relation to not a few subjects such 
conclusions can be accepted as only probable truths, 
and the mind naturally refuses to rest until they have 
been strengthened and verified by the deductive process. 
This is especially observable in the department of math- 
ematics, where probabilities find little place and rigid 
demonstration is so much in demand. I am indebted 
to a mathematical friend for the following illustrative 
example: — 

Examining successively the numbers 126, 333, 639, 
1 107, 20736, and 50400, we find each of them divisible 
by 9, and also the sum of the values of the digits of each 
divisible by 9. Hence we come to believe that very likely 



70 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

a number is divisible by 9 if the sum of the values of its 
digits is. This is pure induction ; it has led to a pos- 
sible discovery, but it is not proof. 

Deduction is now employed to prove the proposition, 
the following being the method : a number on a scale of 
r may be represented by a-\-br~\- cr 2 -\-dr z -\- . . . But 
the remainder arising from dividing this by r — 1 may 
be found by putting 1 in the place of r; if this is done, 
the remainder is seen to be a + b -f- c + d -\- . . . ; that 
is, the sum of the digit values. Hence a number is divis- 
ible by r — 1 if the sum of the digit values is so divisible : 
but r — 1 on a scale of 10 is 9 ; hence the proposition is 
proved. For further details and illustrations of induc- 
tion and deduction, and of reasoning generally, reference 
is made to any elementary work on logic. 

Third Group of Activities. — The psychical activities 
of conception, judgment, and reasoning, on account of 
the close relationship between them, are grouped into a 
class and named, as previously stated, the thinking or 
elaborative activities. 

Definitions and Summary. — For convenience of refer- 
ence some of the most important definitions are brought 
together, and an outline summary of the knowing activ- 
ities, or intellectual powers of the mind, is added. 

1. The mind or soul is that in man which knows, 
feels, and wills. Psychology is the science which treats 
of the manifestations or activities of mind, and of the 
conditions under which these take place, and by which 
they appear to be modified. 

2. Consciousness is the mind knowing itself and its 
own states and activities ; or the necessary knowledge 
which the mind has of its own states and activities, and 
of itself as the being that has these states and exercises 
these activities. 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. J I 

3. Sensation is a state of mind caused by an impres- 
sion made upon some sensory nerve. It may also be 
defined as a state of consciousness. 

4. Perception, (1) as a power, is the ability of the 
mind to know directly and immediately the external 
world, or things outside of itself; (2) as a process, percep- 
tion is the mind knowing directly and immediately the 
external world, or things outside of itself. 

5. A percept is the complete mental product of an 
act of perceiving. 

6. Intuition is the psychical activity by which we know 
immediately many simple, elementary fdeas and self- 
evident truths. 

7. Representation is the activity of the mind which 
forms mental pictures, images, ideas, or notions of things 
not present to the senses. (This activity is also called 
imagination, and sometimes conception.) 

8. Real representation is the psychical activity which 
forms pictures, images, ideas, or notions of things exactly 
as they are, or are believed to be. (This activity is also 
called simple conception.) 

9. Ideal representation, or imagination proper, is the 
mental activity which forms ideal psychical pictures, 
images, ideas, or notions. 

The mental products of all forms of the representative 
activity are called, in a general way, concepts. 

10. Memory is the activity of mind which retains, 
recalls, and recognizes its previous acquisitions. (Every 
perfect act of the memory involves real representation.) 

11. Laws of association are the relations existing 
between things or thoughts which cause them to be 
mutually suggestive. 

12. Conception proper is the complex activity of 



72 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

mind which forms general notions or concepts. It 
includes (i) analysis, (2) abstraction, and (3) generali- 
zation. 

13. A general concept is the mental idea or notion of 
a class. 

14. The judgment is the psychical activity which 
examines, compares, discriminates, and decides as to 
the likenesses and differences of things, and affirms or 
denies that they can be united. 

15. A judgment is the mental product of an act of 
judging. 

16. A proposition is a judgment expressed in words, 
and consists of two notions, either simple or complex, 
called the subject and the predicate. 

17. Reasoning is the complex mental process by 
which related judgments are compared and new judg- 
ments are formed by inference or deduction. (No 
single, brief definition can be given of this process 
which is satisfactory. It must be made clear by illus- 
trations. The term reason is used with so many various 
meanings that no attempt is made to define it.) 

18. Induction is the process of reaching general prob- 
able truths, laws, and rules from the examination of a 
sufficient number of individual cases. (It might be 
defined as the process by which the mind passes from 
individuals to classes and from the particular to the 
general.) 

19. Deduction is the process of applying general 
truths, laws, and rules to individual cases. (It might be 
defined as the process by which the mind passes from 
classes to individuals and from generals to particulars.) 



STUDY OF THE CHILD. 



73 



Outline synopsis of the Knowing Activities. — The Intellect. 



I. The Perceptive Activities. 



II. The Representative and 
Reproductive Activities. 



III. The Thinking or Elabo- 
rative Activities. 



r 1. Consciousness or inner per- 
ception. 

2. Sense-Perception or outer 
perception. 

3. Intuition or perception of 
simple ideas and axiomatic 
truths. 

1. Real Representation or sim- 
ple conception. 

2. Ideal Representation or 
Imagination. 

3. Memory (involving real 
representation) . 

1. Conception proper. 

2. The Judgment. 

3. Reasoning. 



GENERAL REFERENCES. 



Putnam's Elementary Psychology, chapters i. to viii. in- 
clusive. 

Sully's Outlines of Psychology, chapters i. to x. inclusive. 

James' Psychology, briefer course, chapters i. to ix. inclusive. 

Hill's Elements of Psychology, Part I. 

Lindner's Empirical Psychology, Introduction and Part I. 

Polaud's Laws of Thought. 

Davis' Elements of Psychology, Introduction, chapters i, ii., 
iii. ; Part I., chapter ii. ; Part II., chapter vi. 



CHAPTER V. 

OUTLINE STUDY OF MIND [continued). 

The Feelings. — The Will. — The Moral Powers. 

Feelings. — Associated with the various mental activi- 
ties of knowing, we are conscious of states of mind desig- 
nated, in the absence of a better name, by the general 
term " feelings." In strictness of speech, these states of 
mind are indefinable, but necessity compels the use of 
statements which take the form of definitions, and are 
so named. 

Importance. — An acquaintance with the feelings is of 
the highest importance, because the active and impelling 
forces of the soul are found in them. Men do not act 
merely because they know. All voluntary activity, 
either of soul or body, is preceded by the psychical act 
of willing. And every act of willing is preceded by the 
impulsive force of feeling. The order is, knowing, feel- 
ing, willing, action. Motives, so-called, which deter- 
mine to a large extent both conduct and character, are 
found in the domain of the feelings. 

Thinking and Feeling. — Thinking and feeling are 
mutually helpful when they are both concerned about 
the same object, and are moving in the same direction, 
and are neither of them in excess. This is not always 
the case. One's feelings may be occupied by some 
object or subject while he is thinking, or trying to 



OUTLINE STUDY OF MIND. 7$ 

think, of something else. The mind is in a state of 
conflict and confusion. The current of thought and 
the current of feeling are flowing in opposite directions. 
Under such conditions no effective work can be done. 
The problem is how to bring the two activities into 
harmony. 

Conflict. — It may happen that one of the currents is 
so strong, so intense and overwhelming in its character, 
that it sweeps on with resistless force, destroys the other 
current and draws into itself and absorbs the whole 
power and activity of the soul. 

Profound thinking may thus overcome and exclude 
all feeling ; or very intense feeling, such as excessive joy, 
or excessive sorrow, or great terror, may exclude all 
possibility of connected thinking. 

Most' Productive State. — The state of most productive 
mental activity is that in which thought and feeling are 
naturally and properly related ; both are present, both 
are active, but neither is in excess. 

Classification of Feeling. — The feelings are so numer- 
ous, so various, and so intermingled that it is extremely 
difficult to classify them in any manner entirely satis- 
factory. 

The consequence is that each writer classifies in 
accordance with some theory of his own, or according 
to the immediate object which he has in view. The 
purpose in view determines the classification here 
adopted. 

Bodily Feelings. — States of body and states of mind 
are so closely related, and so act and react upon each 
other, that we begin with the physical feelings. Of 
these there are (1) the vital and organic feelings. The 
activities of the vital organism in the processes neces- 



76 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

sary for the support of life are attended by states of 
body properly called feelings. The same is true of the 
activities of all parts of the physical organism. These 
feelings are either agreeable or disagreeable, pleasurable 
or painful, and are very numerous. Next of the bodily 
feelings (2) are the appetites, divided into {a) natural 
and (b) acquired. Natural appetites are regularly re- 
curring feelings caused by some want in the organism. 
They might be called cravings or desires of the body. 
Acquired or artificial appetites are cravings, or feelings 
of discomfort and irritation, created by habits. The 
appetites are so intimately related to the psychical 
feelings of desire that they must be reckoned among 
the impulsive powers which excite and give direction 
to human activity. 

Mental Feelings: Emotions. — Of the mental feelings, 
the first class is that of the emotions. 

Of these, (1) the lowest division consists of the simple 
emotions. These are, in many cases, closely associated 
with bodily states, and are caused by such states. 
Simple emotions are merely moderately excited states 
of mind, usually either pleasurable or painful, but fre- 
quently having little positive character. They find 
natural modes of manifestation in the countenance and 
in movements of the limbs and other parts of the 
body. 

A second (2) division of the emotions, called the 
higher emotions, includes the peculiar and usually 
pleasurable states of mind produced by exhibitions of 
wit, humor, and of the ludicrous, and also by objects 
of beauty and sublimity. The beautiful and sublime in 
language, in poetry, in music, and in conduct, excite 
similar states of mind. These feelings are highly intel- 



OUTLINE STUDY OF MIND. J? 

lectual in character, and they also touch the purest and 
noblest qualities of the soul. Under the influence of 
the emotions of beauty and sublimity, the depths, rather 
than the surface of the soul, are moved. 

Nature of Emotions. — In case of pure emotions, whether 
simple or higher, the excited feelings seem to rise and 
die away in the mind without flowing over, or going 
out, either for good or evil, towards other persons or 
objects. We are conscious of other feelings which do 
seem to flow out towards others, sometimes with a strong 
and violent current, with evident purposes of love or hate, 
of good-will or ill-will, of kindness or unkindness. 

Second Class : Affections. — Feelings which appear to 
flow out of the soul towards others, either for good or 
evil, are usually called affections. This term, being 
commonly employed to designate feelings of love and 
kindness only, is an unfortunate one, but none essen- 
tially better has ever been suggested. The affections are 
conveniently grouped into three sub-divisions : — 

Beneficent Affections. — First, ( I ) the Beneficent, em- 
bracing feelings of kindness and good-will towards 
others which prompt to acts of kindness, charity, and 
mercy. The beneficent may be divided into (a) the 
Domestic, {b) the Social, and (V) the Philanthropic. 

The domestic include the affections which belong to 
the home and to kindred ; the social include the kindly 
feelings which naturally spring up between friends, 
neighbors, associates, and countrymen; the philan- 
thropic include the feelings of love, kindness, mercy, 
and all the good feelings which we entertain for mem- 
bers of the human family, whoever they may be or 
wherever they may be found. These feelings manifest 
themselves also toward domestic animals. 



78 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Second, (2) the Defensive, embracing those feelings 
which prompt to the defence of one's self and of others 
when unjustly attacked and seriously threatened with 
violence and harm, (a) Resentment prompts to the 
defence of self, and (#) indignation to the defence of 
others. This distinction in the use of these terms is 
not always observed. 

Third, (3) the Malevolent, which include all the feel- 
ings that incite to the injury of others. Among such 
affections are envy, jealousy, anger, hatred, malice, and 
revenge. 

Third Class : Desires. — In addition to the emotions 
and affections, we are conscious of a feeling of another 
kind, which may be called the appetite of the soul. It 
is a craving of the mind for those things which we 
believe will contribute in some way to our pleasure, 
enjoyment, advantage. This feeling is commonly named 
desire. Its supreme importance arises from the fact 
that it is the great central motive power, or impulsive 
force, in the human soul. It appears to precede every 
act of volition. To produce voluntary action, on the 
part of either child or man, it is necessary to excite this 
feeling. The whole study of motives consists essen- 
tially in finding and employing the best and highest 
available means of arousing the feeling of desire and of 
giving it right direction. 

Objects, either of sense or of thought, are properly 
motives only as they appeal to this inward susceptibility, 
and set in motion this mighty impelling force. 

Various Names. — While desire appears to be a single 
feeling, having the same characteristics in all its forms 
of manifestation, it receives various names derived from 
the objects upon which it seeks to lay hold. Hence 



OUTLINE STUDY OF MIND. 79 

we have a great multitude of desires. Among these 
are the desire for approbation, for esteem, for society, for 
knowledge, for acquisition, for superiority, for power, for 
excellence, for activity, and for right-doing. As already 
suggested, all desire has in view pleasure, enjoyment, 
satisfaction, well-being of some sort, and ultimately that 
state which may be called happiness. Desire may have 
in view the pleasure, enjoyment, and good of others as 
well as one's own. 

Complex Feelings. — Many feelings are too complex in 
their nature to be assigned exclusively to any one of 
these great classes. They embrace elements of emo- 
tion, affection, and desire in varying degrees. Among 
these are some of the most powerful of the feelings 
which spring up in the soul, such as hope, despair, fear, 
alarm, dread, terror, and horror. Self-conceit, pride, 
vanity, haughtiness, and other kindred feelings, and 
the opposites of these, are largely emotional in their 
nature, but they evidently possess elements which are 
more powerful than mere emotions. 

As to Origin. — In respect to origin, feelings are (i) 
instinctive, (2) rational, and (3) mixed. Instinctive feel- 
ings are those which spring up spontaneously in the 
soul under certain conditions and circumstances without 
thought, reflection, or consideration. The feeling or im- 
pulse which prompts the hen to protect her chickens, 
and the cat to defend her kittens, and the human mother 
to care for her young child, is of this kind. The impulse 
to preserve one's life, to shun danger, to seek to know 
things, to acquire property, to defend home and country, 
is of the same sort. 

Since all instinctive feelings tend to produce action of 
some kind, the actions so produced are called instinctive. 



80 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Instinct may be defined as an impulse to activity directed 
to definite ends, before the actor has had either experi- 
ence or instruction. Among the impulsive forces of the 
mind instinct is one of the most powerful. 

Rational feelings are those which arise in the soul in 
consequence of knowledge, thought, reflection, or con- 
sideration. Knowledge that an object is valuable pro- 
duces a desire for its possession. Reflection upon favors 
received begets the feeling of gratitude. 

Mixed feelings are those which, instinctive in their 
beginnings, are modified and, to a considerable extent, 
controlled by rational consideration. This instinctive 
impulse to know is modified and strengthened by the 
consideration that knowledge will be of practical advan- 
tage in many ways. The natural impulse to gain prop- 
erty is made stronger by an experience of the pleasure, 
comfort, satisfaction to be derived from its use. 



The Will.— Willing. 

Experience. — Before the performance of any act which 
is called voluntary we are conscious of a series of mental 
acts terminating in a decision or determination to per- 
form the act proposed. The psychical processes appear 
to follow one another in this order : Some alternative is 
presented to us ; we are asked to take or refuse some 
object; to select one course of conduct instead of an- 
other ; to go to one place rather than another. 

Deliberation. — When an alternative is thus put before 
us we proceed to deliberate, that is, to examine and 
weigh the reasons for and against this or that line of 
conduct, for and against any proposition which we are 
requested to entertain. In this examination we employ 



OUTLINE STUDY OF MIND. 8 1 

almost every form of mental activity from simple sense- 
perception to the most complicated processes of reason- 
ing. At every step the judgment is especially and 
peculiarly active. 

Choice. — The examination finally results in a conclu- 
sion that one object or one course of life is preferable to 
another, is more desirable. In consequence of this con- 
clusion, which may be called choice, the feeling of desire 
is excited. Qualities and characteristics have been dis- 
covered which cause the mind to crave the object as a 
means of enjoyment or advantage. 

Volition. — This feeling of desire, if sufficiently strong, 
is followed by the final act of the series called volition ; 
that is, by a determination to have or not to have, to do 
or not to do. This whole series of mental processes, of 
which volition is the last and crowning one, is known as 
an act of the will, or as the complex act of willing. 
Consequently we say,- the will is the mental activity or 
power of choosing and determining. It is the executive 
power of the soul, and as the executive power it is " the 
seat, or centre, of human responsibility." Since its 
choices and decisions give direction to the activities of 
both the soul and body, it determines conduct and char- 
acter. Hence moral education consists largely in the 
education of the will. 

The Moral Nature. — In concluding this outline study 
of the human being we have to consider briefly the 
moral nature so-called. The moral nature in man is 
that which renders him responsible for what he does and 
for what he is. Responsibility rests upon (i) knowledge 
and (2) freedom. In order that one may justly be held 
accountable for his conduct he must have the ability and 
the opportunity to know the right and the wrong, and 

6 



82 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

must also have freedom to choose between them. Man 
possesses both these requisites, and is, consequently, a 
moral and responsible being. 

Simple Idea of Right : Moral Intuition. — It is neces- 
sary to know, (i) first, that there is a distinction between 
things, — a line, so to speak, separating acts, thoughts, 
feelings into two great divisions or kinds, one kind called 
right, the other wrong. This dividing line may be called 
the simple, elementary idea of right and wrong. This 
idea is universal. All men everywhere possess it with 
varying degrees of distinction and clearness. It is 
evidently the product of the intuitive power of the soul. 
Since this power is here exercised in the direction of 
right and wrong it may be named moral intuition, and 
we may say moral intuition is that activity of the soul 
which makes us acquainted with the simple primary idea 
of right and wrong. Intuition does not teach us what 
things are right and what things are wrong, but only 
that a necessary and fundamental distinction exists 
between them. 

Moral Perception. — It is necessary (2) next, to know 
what acts, thoughts, and feelings are right and what are 
wrong, what things belong on one side of the dividing 
line and what on the other. In respect to the right and 
wrong of many things there is very little difference of 
opinion. Men everywhere pronounce murder, robbery, 
theft, lying, and all acts of like character, wrong; and 
they affirm with equal unanimity that it is right and 
praiseworthy to tell the truth, to be honest, upright, just, 
and merciful. 

The moral qualities of these and similar acts and 
states seem to be discovered and recognized at once, 
just as the most obvious qualities of material objects are 



OUTLINE STUDY OF MIND. 83 

instantly discovered by the senses. The ability of the 
mind to do this is called moral perception, and may be 
defined thus : Moral perception is the power of the mind 
to discern with little or no instruction or consideration, 
immediately and directly, the moral qualities of many 
human acts, and many states of soul. 

Moral Judgment. — To determine the right or wrong 
of many things, to settle many questions of obligation 
and duty, much inquiry, examination, study, and reflec- 
tion are necessary. Almost all the activities of the mind 
are employed. For the sake of brevity, this whole com- 
plex mental process may be called an act of the judg- 
ment, and the following definition may be accepted: 
Moral judgment is the psychical activity which examines 
and decides all questions of right and wrong which are 
too complicated to be determined by simple moral per- 
ception. In all cases the judgment decides according to 
some recognized standard. This standard is the moral 
law ; and moral law may be defined as a rule, or a code 
of rules, for the guidance of human conduct. 

Conscience. — Whenever the judgment has rendered a 
decision as to moral right or wrong, we are conscious of 
a strong impulse of soul which insists that this decision 
shall be respected and obeyed. If the judgment affirms 
that a particular course of life is the right one for us to 
pursue, this inward force impels us to adopt and follow 
that course, and reproaches, disquiets, and torments us, 
more or less vigorously, when we refuse to do so. This 
impulsive power is conscience, and it may be defined as 
that activity of the soul which insists that the decisions 
of the moral judgment shall always be obeyed, that we 
shall, in all cases, do what we believe to be right, and 
abstain from doing what we believe to be wrong. 



84 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Only peculiar Moral Activity. — Conscience is the only 
activity of the soul peculiar to the moral nature. It 
manifests itself only when questions concerning right 
and wrong are under consideration, and when matters 
of obligation and duty are to be determined. Intuition, 
perception, and judgment receive the name " moral " 
merely to indicate that they are exercised upon matters 
involving problems of right and duty. 

Moral Feelings. — All feelings, but especially the 
affections and desires, are among the forces which give 
direction and character to human conduct. They in- 
volve responsibility and, consequently, belong to the 
moral nature. 

Peculiar Feelings. — Certain feelings are inseparably 
connected with the action of the moral judgment and of 
conscience. Feelings of satisfaction, of self-approval, 
of calmness and rest of soul follow ready and cheerful 
obedience to conscience ; feelings of dissatisfaction, of 
self-condemnation, of unrest of spirit, and, in extreme 
cases, of remorse follow disobedience to conscience. 



OUTLINE STUDY OF MIND. 



85 



Outline Synopsis of the Feelings and the Moral Nature, 



I. As to Origin. 



II. As to Nature. 



I 



The Feelings. 

1. Instinctive. 
Rational. 
Mixed. 



1. Physical. 



( 1 . Vital and Organic. 

1 A ... ( 1. Natural 
(2. Appetites. j 2 . Acqui; 



2. Psychical. 



red. 



1. Emotions. 5 u ^ m P le ' 

I 2. Higher. 

( 1. Beneficent. 

2. Affections. -\ 2. Defensive. 

( 3. Malevolent 

3. Desires. 

4. Complex feelings. 



I. Intuition. 
Activities or Powers. -^ 2. Perception. 
3. Judgment. 



The Moral Nature. 



2. Feelings or Impulsive 
Forces. 



1. Feelings 

generally. 

2. Conscience. 
I3. Will. 



GENERAL REFERENCES. 

Putnam's Elementary Psychology, chaps, ix. to xiii., inclusive. 
Sully's Outlines of Psychology, chaps, xi. to xiv., inclusive. 
Hill's Elements of Psychology. Parts II. and III. , 
Lindner's Empirical Psychology, Parts II. and III. 
Mc Cosh's Psychology of the Motive Powers. 
Davis' Elements of Psychology, Part IV., chapters i. and 
iii. ; Part II., chapters i., ii., iii. 

Mahan's Mental Philosophy, Part II. 



CHAPTER VI. 

LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT AND INFERENCES FROM 
THEM. 

An Illustration. — The future tree exists in germ and 
possibility in the seed enclosed in the hard pit of the 
peach. The future bird exists in embryo in the egg of 
the robin. Whether the tree or the bird shall exist in 
reality and in full perfection depends upon conditions 
and circumstances, upon environment. But if they are 
developed, the tree will be a peach and the bird will be 
a robin. What each shall be is predetermined by the 
nature of the germ. Of what sort it shall be — that is, 
whether it shall be good or bad of its kind — will be 
determined very largely by its surroundings. 

Laws of Development. — Certain conditions in respect to 
temperature, to means of sustenance, to protection, to 
general care and attention, are necessary to the com- 
plete development of tree or bird. These conditions 
constitute laws of development for both vegetable and 
animal life. The best result can be secured only by 
observing these conditions. 

The Man in the Child. — The man exists in germ and 
possibility in the child. No power will appear in the 
fully matured human being which did not have its 
beginnings in the unconscious and helpless infant. 
What the child shall be if allowed an opportunity to 
develop, is predetermined by the nature of the embryo. 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 87 

But of what sort he shall be depends very largely upon 
the conditions, the circumstances, the influences which 
constitute his environment in the early and most plastic 
period of life. 

An Important Element : Will. — One important element 
appears in the unfolding child which does not appear at 
all in the plant, and only to a very limited extent in the 
animal. This is the power of self-determination or 
will. By this power the child begins, at a very early 
stage of growth, to resist some influences of its sur- 
roundings and to yield itself to the direction of other 
influences, and to modify, by its voluntary activity, the 
conditions in which it has been placed. 

Earliest Exhibition of this Power. — The earliest exhi- 
bition of this power of self-determination appears in the 
form of resistance to external physical force exerted by 
the mother in changing the position of the child and in 
turning it in one way and another. Vexation at in- 
ability to make effectual resistance is manifested by 
violent jerkings of the limbs, contortions, and cries. A 
little later, when the child has learned the meanings of 
signs and spoken words, it puts itself in opposition to 
the requirements of authority expressed without the use 
of physical force. It refuses to do what is commanded, 
or to refrain from doing what is forbidden. Its law of 
conduct is evidently its own impulses and desires. 
Presently having discovered that conduct has conse- 
quences and that the yielding to certain impulses is 
followed by discomfort, the child begins to resist some 
of its own impulses and desires and to inhibit the con- 
duct which they prompt. Self-determination turns 
itself in the direction of self-control by resisting internal 
and, in some cases, instinctive impulses. 



88 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Positive Action of Will. — While the earliest manifest- 
ations of the self-determining power are in the direction 
of resistance to movement, voluntary effort is soon made 
to produce movement. The child reaches for objects, 
moves towards them, seeks to grasp them and to use 
them for its own gratification. Imitation soon begins, 
which indicates the formation of pretty distinct ideas of 
movements and something of deliberation and choice. 

It is not the purpose here to trace in detail the 
development of the will, or the power of self-deter- 
mination, but simply to show how important a factor 
the will is in the education of a human being, and at 
how early a period its manifestations appear. At first 
the will, like all the psychical activities, is extremely 
weak, and the conduct of the child is irregular, fitful, 
and inconsistent. Gradually, if the management of the 
parent and teacher is wise and uniform, the child be- 
comes able to weigh motives, to select the better in 
place of the worse, to put aside present gratification for 
future and even distant advantage, to pursue a regular 
and uniform course of life, and to resist strong entice- 
ments and allurements by turning voluntarily and reso- 
lutely away from them and fixing the attention upon 
other objects and in a different direction. The wisdom 
and skill of both parent and teacher may be estimated 
by the measure of their success in the right development 
and training of this self-determining power, the most 
characteristic and most important element in the child's 
nature. 

Preyer. — " The human will is the greatest power on earth. 
It is man's will that shapes his destiny. His career in life is 
determined chiefly, not by accidental circumstances, by envi- 
ronment or by education, but by his own will. ' Man makes 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 89 

his own destiny,' and, ' every man is the founder of his own 
fortune,' only through his own will. On the forming of the will 
depends well-nigh everything in education." 

Inherited Tendencies. — It is expected that the child 
will resemble the father or the mother or some other 
ancestor in his physical organism. In stature he will be 
short or tall, in complexion light or dark, in general 
make-up stout or slender, in harmony with the usual 
family characteristics. Analogy would lead one to 
anticipate something of the same sort in the psychical 
nature. In addition to the mental characteristics com- 
mon to human nature, among which is the self-determin- 
ing power previously spoken of, any individual child 
may inherit certain peculiar tendencies or traits of mind 
from his immediate parents or from more remote 
ancestors. Such tendencies in the child, in many re- 
spects, bear a marked resemblance in their modes of 
manifestation to instinct in the animal, giving some 
color to the theory that instinct is only inherited memory. 
Intellectual traits of the father or the mother exhibit 
themselves at certain stages of the child's development, 
— a peculiar readiness in the acquisition of languages, 
special facility in mastering mathematical studies, a 
marked aptitude for scientific investigation. Moral 
characteristics also seem to be transmitted, — tendencies 
to various forms of criminal conduct and vicious 
practices, such as lying, stealing, and other forms of dis- 
honesty, intemperance, social impurity, and other vices. 
It should, however, be borne in mind that, in most cases 
of this kind, environment comes in to strengthen and 
intensify the inherited tendency. 

While there is without doubt considerable power in 



90 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

what is called heredity, yet it is quite possible to over- 
estimate its importance, and to fall into a species of 
" scientific fatalism." The natural tendency in all vege- 
table and animal organisms, however highly specialized, 
is to revert to the original stock and original character- 
istics. This is doubtless true of the human race. 
Special family peculiarities tend to disappear; common 
characteristics persist; if the special has become too 
strong for the general, vitality becomes gradually ex- 
hausted and the family or the variety dies out. The 
teacher, in his work, will recognize heredity, but will 
not consider it an insuperable obstacle in the way of 
the proper education of a child. 

Power of Environment. — Making due allowance for the 
self-determining power in all children, and for peculiar 
cases in which this force is especially strong, and for 
the influence of heredity, it still remains true that the 
environment determines, to a very large extent, the 
direction in which development shall take place. 

What the Environment is. — The environment, at first, 
consists of the family into which the child is born; a 
little later, of the immediate neighborhood in which the 
years of 'childhood are passed; later still, of the wider 
world into which he gradually enters. Finally the 
environment becomes all material things and the forces 
associated with them ; all the products of human activity 
embodied in the conveniences of life, in arts, sciences, 
literature, history, and in institutions. Among institu- 
tions are schools and all the appliances of education. 

Education a Result. — The education of the child is 
mostly the result of the action and reaction of the soul 
and its surroundings. The soul has susceptibilities ; 
these are impressed and excited by the objects and 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 9 1 

influences about it. The soul, also, has positive activ- 
ities ; these lay hold upon external things and appro- 
priate them to its own use and service. At the same 
time the mind itself is changed and modified by the 
efforts which it puts forth and by the material which it 
appropriates and absorbs. In this way the germs of 
power and activity in the soul are unfolded and 
matured; development is secured; training takes 
place, and knowledge is acquired. 

Work of Schools and Teachers. — Much of this recipro- 
cal action between the soul and its environment goes on 
without direction and unconsciously on the part of the 
child. All sorts of material and all kinds of influences 
push themselves forward into contact with his sensitive 
and impressible mind, often to the great detriment of 
the better and higher elements of his nature. 

A large part of the legitimate work of the school and 
the teacher is to select and bring before the child such 
materials, such objects and influences, as are best 
adapted to give right direction and wholesome activity 
to his developing powers during the successive periods 
of his progress to full maturity. 

What Laws of Development are. — As previously stated 
the germs of all mental activities exist in the uncon- 
scious infant. Most of these activities begin to mani- 
fest themselves, in some degree, even in very early 
childhood. But experience and observation show that 
they unfold, increase in power, and attain maturity in 
regular order, under unvarying conditions, and by the 
use of appropriate means. 

Formal statements of this order, of these conditions, 
and of these means, are called, for convenience, laws of 
development. These laws may be reduced to three: 



92 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

(i) the law of order of development; (2) the law of 
condition of development; and (3) the law of means 
of development. 

The discussion of these laws and of the natural infer- 
ences or deductions from them make up the first part 
of the application of psychology to educational affairs 
and to the art of teaching. Methods of teaching are 
considered in a later chapter. 



Laws of Development. 

First Law : Order of Development. — The powers and 
activities of the child are developed in a regular order. 
This law applies equally to the body and the mind. 

Order in the Body, (i) The digestive and related sys- 
tems. — At the beginning of life the digestive and related 
systems exhibit considerable vigor and activity, more 
than any other parts of the physical organism. The 
immediate action of these organs is necessary to the 
support of life. For some time the young child does 
little else than eat, sleep, and assimilate the nourishment 
which it takes by an act purely instinctive. 

(2) The nervous, muscular, and related systems. — The 
action of these systems is necessary to the adjustment 
of one's self to one's environment and to self-direction 
and self-support. The nervous system begins to ex- 
hibit its activities at a very early period. This is neces- 
sary since it is the organism through which the mind 
must manifest itself. The development of some parts 
of this system is much more rapid than that of the body 
generally. 

The brain, the great centre of the nervous organism, 
attains nearly its full size at about the eighth year of 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 93 

the child's life. The weight of the brain, compared 
with the weight of the whole body, is about as one to 
thirty-six or forty at the period of maturity, while at the 
age of four it is as much as one to sixteen. 

Development of Sensory Nerves. — The nerves of spe- 
cial sense begin to exhibit their peculiar activity in a 
remarkable degree while the body as a whole is still 
almost helpless. The lower senses of taste, smell, and 
touch manifest a good degree of activity within a few 
days after birth. The higher senses of hearing and 
sight attain the power to act with regularity and pre- 
cision at a little later time, but yet at a very early 
period. 

Importance of this early Development. — This early 
activity of the organs through which the mind and the 
external world come into contact is of the very highest 
importance to the education of the child. While the 
body, so far as the bones and muscles are concerned, 
is still too immature and weak to bear burdens or to 
perform service of any kind, the work of education can 
begin and can be carried on with considerable rapidity 
and regularity. The condition of the brain indicates 
that no real tasks or severe mental labor should be 
imposed before the age of seven or eight years. But 
the instruction and exercises of the kindergarten and 
of the properly conducted primary school afford physi- 
cal and mental training adapted to two or three of the 
earlier years. Consequently the development and 
training of the mind may anticipate, to some extent, 
that of the body, and the period of early childhood may 
be made the most fruitful time of the whole life. 

Order of Intellectual Development. — Nearly all forms 
of mental activity manifest themselves, to some extent, 



94 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

even in very early childhood. But the manifestations of 
some forms are very feeble, and, from the nature of 
psychical action, some forms must precede others. 

Earliest Activities : The Perceptive. — Conscious men- 
tal life evidently begins with sensation; consciousness 
makes us aware of sensation; sensation leads to per- 
ception of the external, material world. Knowledge of 
material objects occasions the idea of space ; and the 
discovery of changes within and around us occasions 
the idea of duration and time. The intuitive activity 
manifests itself in connection with consciousness and 
sense-perception. 

During the first years of a child's life sense-perception 
and its necessary accompanying activities absorb and 
occupy much the larger part of his available mental 
energy. Other activities are secondary and subordinate. 

Second Class of Activities : The Representative. — Grad- 
ually the predominant form of psychical activity changes. 
Material of knowledge has been gathered by the per- 
ceptive activities, but has been only partially and crudely 
assimilated or apperceived. The assimilating processes 
require the activities of memory of real representation 
or conception and of ideal representation or imagination 
to hold distinctly in consciousness the matter or con- 
cepts to be examined, analyzed, classified, and appro- 
priated. These activities must necessarily follow those 
of perception, and they may consequently be regarded 
as second in order of development. 

Third Class : The Thinking Activities. — The proper 
assimilation and absorption of the raw material of 
knowledge require the constant exercise of the pro- 
cesses of analysis, comparison, and discrimination. 
These processes involve the activities of general con- 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 95 

ception, judgment, and reasoning. Consequently we 
observe the manifestation of these activities in the early 
stages of mental development. But such forms of 
psychical action, during the period of childhood, are 
comparatively feeble, and their products in the way of 
classified knowledge are of only moderate value. It is 
not until a later stage of development that the activities 
of judging and reasoning become predominant and give 
especial direction and character to the mental life. 
They may, therefore, be properly regarded as the third 
class, and the latest of the knowing activities in reach- 
ing the condition of maturity. 

Order of Development of the Feelings. — Since some 
sort of feeling necessarily attends or immediately fol- 
lows every exercise of a knowing activity, the develop- 
ment of the sensibilities must keep pace with that of 
the* intellect. The steps of progress, however, cannot 
be so distinctly marked nor so readily traced. The 
feelings are so complex, so intermingled, so difficult in 
many cases to detect and analyze, that no clearly- 
defined lines of separation can be drawn to indicate the 
stages of development or the rate of advancement. 

First, The Physical Feelings. — The vital and organic 
feelings and the natural appetites are the first of which 
the child is conscious. General feelings of comfort and 
discomfort, of pleasure and pain, of rest and unrest, 
pervade the whole organism. The cravings of hunger 
and thirst are felt; the pleasure which comes from the 
proper gratification of appetite and the pain and dis- 
gust which follow over-feeding are experienced. Touch, 
taste, and smell all contribute to the ill-defined feelings 
of bodily comfort and discomfort. A little later, when 
the child has acquired some mastery over himself so as 



96 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

to be able to creep, to walk, to run, he experiences 
feelings of the same nature as those manifested in the 
frolicsome movements of many young animals. Evi- 
dently mere activity is a source of pleasure, and any 
kind of restraint produces discomfort and pain. A 
knowledge of these early physical feelings is of impor- 
tance on account of the close relationship existing be- 
tween them and the simple mental emotions. The 
latter often take their tone and character from the 
former, and the mental can be understood and cor- 
rectly interpreted only by reference to the physical. 

Second, The Simple Emotions. — It is probably impos- 
sible to determine satisfactorily how early the first 
emotions manifest themselves, or the order in which 
they appear. The expression of the face and other 
muscular movements, which, at a later period, are 
pretty sure indications of the nature of the emotions, 
may at first be only reflex and unconscious movements 
and expressions. 

The Earliest, probably. — The almost animal character 
of the infant's life and the intimate connection between 
physical conditions and psychical states 'make it alto- 
gether likely that the earliest conscious emotions are 
those of mental comfort and discomfort, satisfaction 
and dissatisfaction, pain and pleasure, scarcely distin- 
guishable from the corresponding bodily feelings. These 
grow rapidly more positive in character and exhibit 
themselves in muscular movements, expressions of 
countenance, and tones of voice, which cannot be mis- 
understood or misinterpreted. Consequently more posi- 
tive and well-defined feelings of pain and pleasure, of 
joy and sorrow, soon follow. Mingled with these, 
feelings of wonder, astonishment, fear, aversion, antip- 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 9J 

athy, and so forth, appear. All these are, to a large 
extent, instinctive or inherited, manifesting themselves 
before experience can have taught any lessons which 
affect conduct. 

Third, Feelings of Affection and Desire. — No sharp 
and well-defined line of separation can be drawn be- 
tween these and the simple emotions. The feelings of 
young children are almost exclusively egoistic. Self is 
the centre of the child's world ; everything is regarded 
and estimated by its relation to personal enjoyment and 
suffering. 

The child, at first, loves and desires that which min- 
isters to his own pleasure; he dislikes and has an 
aversion for everything which brings to him discomfort 
and pain, or which thwarts his inclinations or wishes. 

Gradually, and at a pretty early period, if the edu- 
cation of the child is of the right character, the domes- 
tic affections and the desires which accompany them 
begin to manifest themselves. These are followed by 
the social affections, and considerably later by the 
philanthropic affections, which in many cases, appear 
only after intellectual development has made a good 
degree of progress. 

Along with the beneficent affections, the defensive 
and the malevolent affections make themselves manifest. 
The development of the desires must, of necessity, be 
co-ordinate with the development of the intellectual 
activities. 

Last, the Higher Emotions. — The higher emotions, 
such as the feelings excited by the beautiful and the 
sublime, manifest themselves latest in the natural order 
of evolution. Ordinarily these appear only after a con- 
siderable degree of intellectual culture has been received. 



98 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

The young child simply wonders where the person of 
maturity appreciates and admires; the one is merely 
terrified where the other is filled with feelings of awe 
and sublimity. 

Complementary Relation. — Feeling being the comple- 
ment of thinking in the human soul, the character of 
the feelings, at any particular period, will be determined 
very largely by the content of the mind on the side of 
knowledge. Pure, good, true, and elevated thinking 
will naturally be attended by pure, good, true, and ele- 
vated feeling. Thinking of opposite character will be 
attended by feelings of opposite character. Conse- 
quently the rate and character of emotional develop- 
ment may be inferred, with a good degree of certainty, 
from a knowledge of the stage and character of the 
intellectual progress. 

Order of Development in the Moral Nature and the 
Will. 

Source of Responsibility. — The moral nature is that in 
man which renders him responsible for, his conduct. 
The two things necessary to make a responsible being 
are intelligence and freedom, intelligence enough to 
understand clearly the distinction between right and 
wrong, and freedom to choose and pursue one of these 
in preference to the other. 

The Problem. — The practical problem in moral devel- 
opment and training is to secure this intelligence, and 
to create in the mind a permanent inclination or dis- 
position to choose and follow the right rather than the 
wrong. Such a disposition depends upon the proper 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 99 

development and training of the will as the determining 
force in human character and conduct. 

Activities and Forces. — The activities of the moral 
nature which insure proper intelligence are moral intui- 
tion, perception, and judgment. The forces in this 
nature which impel to right choice and to right conduct 
are the emotions, affections, and desires, the conscience 
and the will. 

Only an Outline. — In what order are these activities 
and forces developed? In this place only a brief out- 
line will be given, as the subject will receive some 
special consideration in another place. 

First Step. — At first, and for some time, the young 
child exhibits no evidence of knowing or caring for 
such a distinction as that of right and wrong ; gives no 
manifestation of conscience or will. His first rule of 
conduct is his own inclination. His first lesson looking 
towards moral development and training is that of 
obedience to the mother. This lesson reveals to him 
a law of conduct outside of himself, and the necessity 
of obeying this law out of regard for his own personal 
comfort. He discovers that some kinds of conduct are 
approved and other kinds are disapproved by the 
mother; that some actions contribute to his pleasure* 
and others bring pain. This is probably his first step 
in practical moral development. 

Second Step. — In connection with the discovery that 
some things are approved and others are disapproved 
by the person whose will is now his law of behavior, 
intuition gives birth to the idea of a right and wrong. 
Gradually moral perception and judgment lead him to 
place certain things on the side of right, and other 
things on the side of wrong. The judgment will be 



IOO A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

guided in its decisions, for some time, almost entirely 
by the instructions and conduct of parents and teachers. 
The conduct of others, or custom, becomes the child's 
law of behavior. 

Conscience appears. In connection with the activity of 
the judgment in relation to the question of conduct, 
conscience begins to exert its impulsive force and to 
insist upon obedience to the decisions of the judgment. 
At first this insistence is not very strenuous, and dis- 
obedience does not bring serious discomfort or self- 
condemnation. If moral instruction and training are 
uniform and consistent, the power of conscience increases 
with a fair degree of rapidity. 

The Feelings. — So far as they are incentives to conduct 
and help to give direction and character to conduct, all 
the feelings belong to the moral nature. Certain feel- 
ings which are peculiar to the moral nature, and can 
manifest themselves only in connection with questions 
of right or wrong behavior, appear successively as the 
occasion calls them forth. The simplest of these are 
the feelings of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, of self- 
approval and disapproval. As conscience becomes 
more positive in the exercise of its authority, these 
simple emotions are succeeded by the stronger feelings 
of regret and remorse and other related states of soul. 

Development of the Will. — We may define the will as 
the power of self-determination, or as the power of mind 
to choose freely some desired end and to direct its 
energies to the attainment of that end. It is conse- 
quently the executive power of the soul. 

The Infant. — The infant gives no evidence of the 
activity of will. Its early movements are automatic, 
impulsive, or reflex. For some time there is no mani- 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 101 

festation of choice, or of action directed to a definite, 
desired end. Before action can be directed towards an 
end, there must be in the mind an idea or representa- 
tion of the end, and also an impulse urging to the 
attainment of the end. The idea or representation is 
a matter of knowledge. The impulse is a feeling, de- 
sire. Knowing and feeling must consequently precede 
willing. 

Will first manifested. — The earliest observable evi- 
dence of the exercise of will is seen in the child's efforts 
at imitation. The act to be imitated must be imaged 
or represented in the mind, and an impulse to perform 
the act must be felt, before imitation is attempted. It 
is quite probable that earlier exercises of will have taken 
place in the direction of resistance to movements of 
body compelled by the person in charge of the child, 
but of this we cannot affirm positively. 

First Law of Conduct. — The first activity of will in the 
child is caused by the desire to gratify' himself, to do 
something for his own pleasure. At this period he 
knows only this law of conduct. 

Essential Thing in Development of Will. — The essential 
thing in the development and training of the will is, not 
to compel it to yield to the commands or demands of 
another will stronger than itself simply because it is 
forced to do so, — this is merely breaking or crushing 
the will by superior force, — but to bring it to act freely 
and readily in accordance with the requirements of 
an external, ethical law of conduct imposed by some 
recognized and legitimate authority. 

How secure this. — To secure this there must first be 
a proper development of intelligence, of right thinking, 
accompanied by healthful and naturally related feeling ; 



102 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

thought leads to feeling, thought and feeling lead to 
willing. The three activities are inseparably connected 
in the normally constituted mind. The will is not 
" thought in action," but it is the impelling force which 
makes action correspond to thought, or puts thought 
into action. 

The successive Steps. — Admitting the correctness of 
these last statements, it will be easy to trace the succes- 
sive steps in the right development and training of the 
will. By the progressive increase of intelligence the 
child is led to discover and to represent consciously 
and clearly to himself one exterior law of conduct after 
another, until finally he comes to recognize and repre- 
sent the highest possible law, and also, the reasons for 
conformity to this law. 

Along with these acts of the intelligence the corre- 
lated feelings are awakened which, culminating in desire, 
impel the child to realize his thoughts, his representa- 
tions, in appropriate conduct. This impulsion termi- 
nates in the final act of volition. The wisdom of the 
parent or teacher will appear in helping the child to 
think clearly the law of conduct, or more' strictly, the 
conduct itself, and in making it easy as possible for him 
to conform to the law, or to put his thinking into 
action. 

Deductions from the first law of development 

First Deduction. — The time of school life is naturally 
and conveniently divided into three periods. All educa- 
tors and teachers recognize certain stages of progress 
in the process of development and training. As to the 
number of stages or periods, there is considerable variety 
of opinion. Agreement upon this point is not impor- 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 103 

tant, nor could it be expected, since all do not adopt 
the same basis of division. 

Lange. — Lange makes the degree of development of 
the apperceptive or assimilative power the ground of 
division, and recognizes (1) early childhood up to the 
seventh year, (2) advanced childhood, extending from 
the seventh to the tenth year, (3) riper boyhood and 
girlhood, the period from eleven to fourteen, (4) young 
manhood, the period from fifteen onward to the time of 
full maturity. 

Laurie. — Laurie, in his " Institutes of Education," 
recognizes six successive stages of mental development. 
The child passes through five of these before reaching 
full maturity. 

(1) Babehood, — first year of life. 

(2) Infancy, — from the second year to the eighth. 

(3) Childhood, — from the eighth to the fifteenth year. 

(4) Boyhood and girlhood, or the juvenile period, — 
from the fifteenth to the eighteenth year. 

(5) Adolescence, — from the eighteenth to the 
twenty-second year. 

(6) Manhood and womanhood, — from the twenty- 
second year onward to maturity. 

Our Divisions. — We prefer to recognize three periods, 
for reasons which will appear as we proceed. While 
these periods cannot be separated by sharply defined 
lines, yet each one of them is characterized, in a general 
way, by the predominance of some special form of 
mental activity and by other well-marked peculiarities. 
The transition from one period to the next is by very 
gradual and almost imperceptible steps, corresponding 
to the progress of mental development. 

Periods not bounded by Years. — It will consequently 



104 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

be impossible to bound these periods by years, except- 
ing in a loose, general way. Some children are as 
much developed in every respect at six years of age 
as others are at eight or nine ; some as much at twelve 
as others at fourteen or fifteen. The differences are 
sometimes due to original, native endowment, and some- 
times, perhaps more frequently, to home influences and 
surroundings. 

First Period. — The first school period is childhood. 
This is the primary or elementary period, extending 
from the time of entering school to the tenth or eleventh 
year. As before stated, the limitation by years is only 
general and of little value. The previous years spent at 
home or in the kindergarten, may be called the period 
of infancy. Childhood, however, is only a continuation 
of infancy so far as mental characteristics are concerned. 

The following are some of the most obvious charac- 
teristics of this elementary period : — 

The Body. — The body is immature, weak, and not 
capable of continued effort in one direction. There is 
constant, varied, and apparently aimless activity. Dur- 
ing waking hours the child is seldom entirely quiet 
unless under some strong restraint. Enforced quiet- 
ness, for any considerable time, is irksome and painful. 
Nature demands frequent change of position and 
employment. 

The Intellect. — The intellectual activities characteriz- 
ing this period are mostly those of the senses. Sense- 
perception is the predominant form of mental action. 
The child is occupied chiefly in seeing, hearing, tasting, 
smelling, and handling objects about him. The " gate- 
ways " to the soul are wide open and in constant use. 
Confused and complex percepts crowd in upon the 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 105 

mind through every avenue of approach. Memory is 
gradually acquiring considerable strength, indeed exhib- 
its a good degree of power even in this period. Imagi- 
nation manifests its incipient power, and judgment and 
reason begin to act, but in a feeble and unreliable way. 

The Feelings.— The natural appetites are very vigorous 
and very little under control. The vital and organic 
feelings are strong, and exert great influence over the 
mental activities and over the conduct of the child. 
The simple psychical emotions are easily excited and as 
easily allayed. The feelings are exceedingly capricious 
and liable to sudden and violent changes. 

The Will. — The will has very little steady and con- 
trolling power. It is, indeed, as " fickle as the wind," 
and cannot be depended upon to insure any uniformity 
of behavior or consistency of conduct. 

The Moral Nature. — The moral powers and feelings 
exhibit but little strength and activity. Ideas of right 
and wrong are very indefinite, and feelings of obligation 
and duty scarcely manifest themselves. The child 
hardly recognizes, in the first years of this period, that 
others have rights of any kind. All privileges, enjoy- 
ments, and possessions are peculiarly his own and for 
his use and pleasure. 

Second Period : Youth. — This is a transition period, 
extending from the tenth or eleventh year to the fif- 
teenth or sixteenth, though the limitation of years is 
here also of uncertain value. 

This period is usually marked by great variability and 
inconstancy of character and conduct. The yielding, 
plastic temper and disposition of childhood have disap- 
peared, and the discretion, consistency, and reasonable- 
ness of maturity have not yet become established. 



106 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Characteristics of the Period. — The following are some 
of the most prominent characteristics of the period : — 

The Body. — The body, though not yet matured, has 
become vigorous, and is capable of a good degree of 
regular and sustained effort. Activity has ceased to be 
aimless, but there is a disposition to indulge in rough 
and violent forms of physical exercise. The supera- 
bundance of vital energy and of mere animal spirits 
renders it necessary that provision be made for these to 
employ and exhaust themselves either in useful labors 
or in healthful sports and games. A judicious alterna- 
tion of work and play is doubtless the best and most 
agreeable provision. 

Very severe restrictions in respect to modes of 
"working off" the abundant supply of physical energy 
are always unwise and generally useless. The activity 
which affords relief to accumulated and pent-up energy 
is too pleasurable to submit cheerfully to unnecessary 
fetters. 

The Intellect. — The senses are still vigorously active, 
but comparatively less so than in the period of child- 
hood. The predominant and most characteristic activi- 
ties are those of the representative and reproductive 
powers. The memory continues to be peculiarly 
receptive and tenacious. Lessons which do not require 
too much thinking and reasoning are easily mastered 
and retained. The imagination begins to exhibit great 
and growing activity. Images and notions of things 
not present are readily formed. The reading of vivid 
descriptions affords great pleasure. Well written books 
of travels, explorations, and adventures are eagerly 
devoured. During this period, facts of all sorts are 
gathered up for future use, and processes are learned 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 107 

with great rapidity and delight. Enjoyment is found 
in doing things, in solving problems, and in mechanical 
operations and devices. The activities of judging and 
reasoning manifest considerable vigor, but are not yet 
worthy of entire confidence for care and accuracy in 
their decisions and conclusions. 

The Bodily Feelings. — The natural appetites are 
peculiarly strong and active, and not easily restrained 
and kept within proper limits. Artificial appetites 
begin to be formed by imitation, and there is a restless 
craving for something new and exciting. It is the period 
of especial danger in respect to appetites, passions, and 
habits. 

Mental Feelings. — The mental affections and desires 
develop with great rapidity and exhibit great energy. 
They are readily kindled into passions. Anger and 
other malevolent feelings are easily aroused, and not 
easily controlled and allayed. The better affections 
are active, but have need of constant cultivation and 
direction. The higher emotions only just begin to 
manifest themselves fully and distinctly. 

The Will. — The will is increasing in power with a 
good degree of rapidity, but acts under the influence of 
considerations and motives near at hand. It has not 
yet acquired steady control over the other activities 
of the mind, and consistency of conduct cannot be 
expected. Attention to study is only partially volitional, 
being still, to a considerable extent, governed by external 
attractions and incitements. 

The Moral Nature. — The moral powers are slowly 
developing, but are unreliable in their action. The 
idea of right is becoming more and more distinct, but 
is not yet well defined. Moral judgment and the con- 



108 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

science manifest a good degree of activity, but the 
activity is intermittent and fitful. Passion and self- 
interest easily resist and overcome the impulses toward 
right, generous, and noble conduct. Feelings of obliga- 
tion and duty follow closely the developing power of 
judgment and conscience. Feelings of approval and 
disapproval are more vivid and have greater influence 
in moving the will and in controlling the conduct. 
The egoistic feelings, however, are still ^ stronger and 
more influential than the altruistic. 

Third Period. — The third and last is the period of 
maturity y or the period in which the whole complex 
being is approaching maturity. This extends indefi- 
nitely onward from the close of the period of youth, 
and its general characteristics are so well understood 
that they need no extended description. 

The Body. — The body is becoming fully developed 
and matured, and, if properly cared for, is capable of 
enduring severe and continuous labor. Provision must 
still be made, however, for proper and healthful physi- 
cal exercise, and for the expenditure, by safe and agree- 
able methods, of the surplus vital energy with which 
early manhood is filled. It is vastly wiser to open 
legitimate avenues in which the innate and irresistible 
impulse to activity may find room and means for grati- 
fication, than to attempt to restrain that which, in the 
nature of things, can not be effectively restrained. 

The Intellect. — This period is marked by the matur- 
ing and harmonious activity of all the intellectual 
powers, under the control and guidance of judgment 
and reason. The thinking activities exercise their 
natural and appropriate function of leadership and 
authority. The student now seeks, not simply for facts 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 109 

to be stored up and processes to be mastered, but for 
causes, consequences, and relations. The material of 
knowledge, accumulated during the preceding periods, 
is more completely analyzed, classified, and employed 
as a basis for the acquisition of new knowledge. 

The Feelings. — The rational feelings and especially 
the higher emotions manifest themselves in full strength, 
while the appetites and the lower feelings, in most cases, 
occupy a subordinate place. The affections and desires 
are more constant and consistent in their activity. Pas- 
sions are strong and clamorous for gratification, but are 
generally subjected to the control of the higher and 
better principles of the soul unless the individual has 
surrendered himself to the dominion of some ruling 
passion, or debasing appetite. 

The Will. — At the opening of this period, the will 
begins to assume its rightful position of mastership 
over the whole man. If the previous instruction has 
been wise, and the training has been effective, the will 
is able to hold the other psychical powers in proper 
subjection, and to keep the energies of the mind 
directed steadily toward any chosen purpose. It is no 
longer necessarily impelled to its determinations by the 
force of the so-called " strongest motive." By its own 
inherent energy it can give preference to one motive 
over another, and, within certain limits, can select the 
impulses to which it will yield. Until this power is 
attained the man is not complete master of himself. 

The Moral Nature. — The moral powers, although slow 
in developing and maturing, begin to exercise their le- 
gitimate authority. If the influences and teachings of 
the home and school have been consistent and whole- 
some, the moral judgment is, by this time, fairly well 



1IO A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

developed and instructed, and the conscience can insist 
successfully upon obedience to the decisions of the 
judgment. Ideas of right and rights, of obligations 
and duties, have become pretty clearly defined and 
firmly fixed. Conduct is determined and regulated by 
considerations of justice, benevolence, good-will, and 
humanity, unless passions are greatly excited and 
temptations are very strong. The nobler and better 
are known and approved, even though the dishonorable 
and the base are too frequently cherished and followed. 

Second Deduction. — Schools are naturally divided into 
three classes. Each of the three classes may be sub- 
divided into several minor varieties and grades, but 
certain essential characteristics will distinguish all the 
schools belonging to the same great class. 

Basis of the Division. — The recognized existence of 
three great groups of related mental activities, following 
each other regularly in the order of their predominance, 
and the consequent recognition of three periods of 
school life, suggest and require this threefold division of 
schools. They also present a basis for a natural, 
psychological, and logical arrangement of subjects for 
study and instruction into progressive courses. The 
organization, management, studies, and instruction of 
a school must be adapted to the degree of development 
and to the mental activities of pupils in the period for 
which provision is to be made* Schools designed for 
childhood should differ widely and radically from those 
intended for youth ; and the schools for mature students 
must necessarily, in many respects, be unlike both the 
other classes. 

First Class. — The first class consists of the Elementary 
or Primary Schools. This class includes the kinder- 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. Ill 

garten and all institutions for the instruction and train- 
ing of young children. These must be adapted to the 
characteristics and needs of childhood in respect to 
buildings, furniture, apparatus, and appliances gen- 
erally. The organization, management, subjects of 
study and instruction, length of sessions and of exer- 
cises, indeed everything, must be shaped with reference 
to the peculiarities of young children. Sense-perception 
being the predominant mental activity of childhood, 
instruction must be addressed mainly to the senses, 
especially to the sense of sight, but the assimilative 
activities must not be neglected. 

Second Class. — The second class includes all Secondary 
Schools, or schools for secondary instruction. These 
might well be called intermediate schools, since they 
occupy a place between the elementary and the higher 
institutions of learning. The advanced grades of the 
so-called grammar schools and the lower grades of the 
high schools belong in this class. It may be that 
the entire high school and all academies and similar 
institutions should be placed in this division, although 
the most advanced work of such schools seems to fall 
within the province of the third class of higher institu- 
tions. These schools should be adapted, in respect to 
organization, management, studies, and all other things, 
to the characteristics, both physical and mental, of the 
period of youth. 

Third Class. — Advanced Schools. This third class 
embraces any part of the ordinary high school which 
does not properly belong in the secondary division, all 
colleges, universities, and professional and technical 
schools of a high order. These schools must be made 
to meet the demands of the matured and the matur- 



112 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

ing powers of manhood. Elementary and secondary 
studies, instruction, and methods are out of place in 
these institutions. 

Manual Training Schools. — Manual training schools 
may be either of a secondary or advanced character, 
but in most cases they belong in the second class. 
They may be organized as independent institutions, or 
they may be attached to grammar and high schools. 
Their character will be determined by the needs, cir- 
cumstances, and conditions of the localities in which 
they are situated. 

Third Deduction. — Means, appliances, and methods of 
instruction may be divided into three classes. This de- 
duction has been anticipated and considered, to some 
extent, under the last preceding head. It will be un- 
necessary to give it extended notice here. Methods of 
teaching must evidently be determined largely by the 
degree of development to which pupils have attained, 
and by the modes of mental activity which predominate 
at any particular period. We shall consequently have 
elementary, secondary, and advanced methods, or 
methods specially adapted to childhood, to youth, and 
to maturity. While this is true, it is also true that the 
line of separation between these different classes of 
methods is not so broad nor so sharply defined as 
is sometimes supposed. For example, elementary 
methods must be largely objective in their character; 
this is probably their peculiar and most distinctive 
mark. But objective methods, in certain branches of 
study, are almost equally necessary and profitable in 
schools of secondary and higher instruction, and it is 
very easy to carry objective methods to a harmful ex- 
treme even in the primary school. 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 113 

Purpose of the School Modifies Methods. — The means 
and methods of instruction must also be modified, to a 
considerable extent, in schools above the primary, by 
the purpose or object for which the school is estab- 
lished. If it is the design of the school to promote 
general development and culture, methods of instruc- 
tion, illustration, and explanation will be shaped accord- 
ingly. If the object of the school is to prepare the 
pupils for business, for positions in stores, shops, and 
manufacturing establishments of various kinds, methods 
must be modified so as to accomplish this purpose 
most directly and effectively. Such special modifi- 
cations can be readily made by teachers who under- 
stand clearly the general principles which govern, or 
should govern, the whole matter of means and methods 
of teaching and illustrating. 

Obviously training, or drill in applications and use of 
knowledge, must occupy a much larger place in the 
instruction of technical and industrial schools than in 
institutions for general culture. 

Second Law of Development. — Law of condition of 
development. The powers of the human being are devel- 
oped, strengthened, and matured only on condition of 
proper exercise, of self -activity. In theory this will be 
assented to by every one, but in practice it is often dis- 
regarded, both in the home and in the school, in the 
treatment of young children. Without fitting exercise 
there can be no normal development, no healthy 
growth, no firmness or solidity of fibre or tissue. 

The Body. — This is as true of the organs of the body 
as of the activities of the mind ; as true of the emotions 
and of the will as of the intellect. The unused limb 
never attains its proper size or its rightful degree of 

8 



114 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

strength and vigor. It is dwarfed, weak, and practically 
useless. 

The Intellect. — The unused mental power suffers in 
like manner. Without appropriate exercise the per- 
ceptive activities remain in a condition of perpetual 
infancy. Memory and imagination never get beyond 
a feeble childhood. Judgment and reason do not reach 
the strength of true manhood. 

The Feelings. — Without fitting use the emotions, affec- 
tions, and other feelings are not developed and made to 
contribute to the enjoyment and adornment of life. 
Without such exercise the sentiments of friendship, love, 
sympathy, pity would have very little of depth, purity 
and beauty. When these and other kindred feelings 
remain uncultivated the human being is heartless, in- 
sensible, only the mere empty image of a man. 

The Will. — The will suffers not less than the other 
powers from the lack of appropriate exercise. The 
inefficiency, almost utter imbecility of many men and 
women, when brought into actual contact with the 
affairs of real life, is the natural consequence of the 
neglect to give proper employment, during the period 
of childhood and youth, to the activities of examining, 
comparing, choosing, and determining. Such persons 
are never able to make up their minds how to act or 
what to do, until the time for action has passed. As 
a result, they can never conduct business successfully 
for themselves ; they must, all their lives, submit to be 
employed and directed by others. 

The Moral Powers. — The moral powers are subject to 
the same universal law. Without exercise moral per- 
ception, judgment, and the conscience exhibit very 
little energy, and give no valuable assistance toward the 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 115 

right direction of life and conduct. The child who has 
never been allowed or required to think out and decide 
moral questions for himself, drifts and floats with the 
current into which he happens to fall, as soon as he 
finds himself free from the direction and restraints of 
the home. That it is so is more his misfortune than 
his fault ; he has no moral strength because his moral 
powers have had no freedom of action. 

Inference or Deduction. — General inference from the 
second law : Adequate provision should be made, in all 
kinds and grades of schools, to afford needed and appro- 
priate exercise to both the physical and mental powers of 
pupils. 

The kind of provision which should be made must 
be determined, in each case, by the class and grade of 
the school, by the means at command, and by sur- 
rounding conditions. The provisions required in an 
elementary school will be different from those demanded 
in a secondary or in an advanced institution. The 
things needed in a city will, in many respects, differ 
from those needed in a rural district. The provision 
required in different localities will vary, to a consider- 
able extent, on account of the differences in conditions, 
occupations, and industries among the people. An 
attempt to secure uniformity of school arrangement, 
management, and studies, throughout the entire State 
would be unwise ; regard should be had for local con- 
ditions and peculiarities. 

The next law and the deduction from it will indicate 
only the provisions necessary to secure the desired 
activity of the mental powers. In respect to the body 
no further suggestions are required. 

Third Law of Development. — Law of means of develop- 



Il6 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

merit. Appropriate matter for investigation and study, 
properly presented to the mind, excites the necessary exer- 
cise, self -activity. 

The term " matter " is here employed to denote all 
objects and subjects of observation, thought, and study 
which may be placed before the child in the primary 
school, or before the advanced student in a higher insti- 
tution. The law affirms that, if the matter and the 
mode of presentation be both appropriate, activity will 
be produced. Proper presentation involves several 
important considerations which may be conveniently 
illustrated by reference to the analogy between the 
conditions of bodily and mental action. 

Analogy between the Physical and Mental Activities. — 
The mere introduction of food into the stomach excites 
immediate and healthful activity of the digestive and 
related organs, provided certain essential conditions 
have been observed. 

First Condition. — The food must be of the right kind, 
such as is adapted to the physical organism of the 
human being. It must also be appropriate to the age, 
to the present state of the digestive apparatus, and to 
the immediate wants of the body. The young child 
and the mature man cannot be fed with the same diet, 
nor is the same kind of food suited to all states of the 
body either of the child or man. 

Second Condition. — The food must be in proper form 
or condition. It is not enough that the food is right in 
kind, it must also be properly prepared. Vegetables 
are wholesome and palatable when well cooked, but 
usually offensive to the taste and injurious to the diges- 
tion when raw or badly cooked. Fruit, ripe and mellow, 
is most excellent and appetizing; unripe or over-ripe, 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. liy . 

it provokes disgust and pain instead of pleasurable 
activity. The same is true of all articles of diet. 

Third Condition. — The food presented and taken at 
one time must be just sufficient in quantity, neither too 
much nor too little. Too much over-taxes and wearies 
the organs of digestion, and their work is impeded and 
improperly done. Assimilation cannot take place; irri- 
tation and disease of the organism follow. Too little 
leaves a painful and continual craving. The body does 
not develop into a vigorous, healthful, and symmetrical 
maturity; it becomes dwarfed, angular, lean, and un- 
graceful. The quantity will be determined by the 
nature of the* food itself, by the period of life, and by 
the immediate condition and needs of the system. 

Fourth Condition. — Food must be presented and re- 
ceived at right times ; presentations must be neither too 
frequent nor at too great intervals. The frequency will be 
determined by age, habit, condition of health, and other 
circumstances. The nature of the food must also be taken 
into account. Intervals of greater or less length must 
be allowed for rest and relaxation of the bodily organs, 
and for the accumulation of a new supply of nervous 
energy. Otherwise appetite becomes sated, all real zest 
is lost, and that which should be a source of legitimate 
pleasure is reduced to a wearisome and irksome task. 

Fifth Condition. — Finally, food should be served in 
an agreeable and enticing manner. Manner is not 
easily denned, but it is readily comprehended and 
appreciated ; it enters into all the processes of prepara- 
tion and presentation, and, though often regarded as of 
small importance, it has much to do with the enjoyment 
and satisfaction afforded by the table. 

The conditions here named in respect to food for the 



Il8 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

body suggest at once and clearly enough those necessary 
to be regarded in the preparation and presentation of 
matter for study and thought to the mental activities. 

Conditions applied in two Directions. — These conditions 
must be kept in view, (i) in preparing and arranging 
courses of studies and instruction for the different classes 
and grades of schools, and, (2) also, in deciding upon' 
the form and manner in which particular studies and 
lessons shall be arranged and taught to individuals and 
classes. These two subjects require separate treatment, 
and the first only will be considered here, and that 
merely in a general way. The second cannot be fully 
discussed and thoroughly comprehended ■ until certain 
fundamental modes of mental activity have been more 
carefully and critically studied, and some inferences 
have been drawn from them. 

General Law for Courses of Studies. — The general law 
in relation to the arrangement of courses of study is very 
obvious and easily stated. Those subjects and branches 
of study, and those parts of studies which extend over 
the time of several school years, should be placed in the 
work of each period of school life which appeal most 
directly to the mental powers then especially active. 

Studies of the Elementary Period. — The studies of the 
elementary schools and of the period of childhood must 
be those which naturally excite and call into vigorous 
action' the perceptive powers. They should touch the 
senses and allure the senses to touch them. The child, 
at this time, is learning in the home, in the garden and 
field, and on the play-ground mostly through the organs 
of sense. Schools and teachers should be wise enough 
to recognize this fact and to fashion the work of the 
school-room accordingly. 



LA WS OF DE VEL OPMENT. 1 1 9 

Studies of the Second Period. — The studies of the 
secondary schools and of the period of youth should be 
such as appeal strongly to the representative and repro- 
ductive powers, to memory, conception, and imagination. 
The branches taught during this time should make 
much greater demands upon the activities of acquisition 
and retention than upon the judgment or the reason. 
Facts, processes, and truths must be learned even if 
they cannot be fully assimilated. 

Studies of the Period of Maturity. — The studies of the 
higher schools and of the period of maturity will be 
those which require the especial activity of the thinking 
powers, conception, judgment, and reason. Studies de- 
manding much of abstraction, classification, and gener- 
alization belong here, as do also those which call for the 
exercise of the moral powers to any considerable extent. 

Knowledge needed to Construct a Course of Studies. — In 
order to construct a course of instruction properly one 
must have a thorough knowledge of the human mind, of 
the order in which its activities are developed, and of 
the nature of the various subjects of study, and of their 
proper correlation. He must know what powers of 
mind each study especially calls into action, and con- 
sequently what studies are necessary to secure the best 
activity and development of the whole mind. Studies 
arranged solely with reference to these considerations 
would form an ideally perfect course of instruction. 

Conditions and Needs must be Considered. — Such a 
course is not, in most cases, entirely practicable. Other 
things besides ideal development and training must be 
taken into account. Regard must be had to special 
conditions and needs. Precisely the same course of 
studies is not desirable for every locality. The in- 



120 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

dustries of the place, the occupation of the people, the 
length of time which pupils can spend in school, the 
number of teachers employed, and various other cir- 
cumstances must be considered. Modifications should 
be made to meet and supply all just and reasonable de- 
mands of those for whose immediate benefit the school 
is established and supported. It is generally unwise to 
attempt to furnish an extended high-school course in 
small villages and in other places where the number of 
advanced scholars must be very limited. 

Methods of Teaching must be considered. — It must also 
be remembered that the method employed in teaching 
a particular study or portions of a study, may determine 
its place in the course. For this reason thoroughly com- 
petent persons will make different and equally good 
arrangements of studies. One may place in the ele- 
mentary period portions of a study which another 
relegates entirely to the high school. For example, 
geometry is usually regarded as a high-school study, but 
Dr. Thomas Hill, Dr. Harris, and others have shown 
very conclusively that the elements of this science may 
be taught successfully and profitably to young children. 
So may also the elements of botany, zoology, and 
mineralogy. The fitness of these and some other 
branches of study for a particular position in a course 
depends altogether upon the methods of teaching. 

Deduction from the Third Law of Development. 

First Deduction. — The primary relation of knowledge, 
that is, of all subjects of study, to the work and process 
of education is that of means to an end. The end pro- 
posed is the symmetrical development and right training 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 121 

of the human being. The purpose is to secure right 
conduct and character. The various studies presented 
and pursued excite the activity of the psychical powers 
and afford them needed exercise, and thus produce 
development, strength, and skill. This is the funda- 
mental relation, and the only one, which the third law 
necessarily involves. Studies are estimated in view of 
this relation, according to what is called their culture 
value, and are pursued for culture only. 

This not the sole Standard of Value. — This standard for 
estimating the worth of knowledge is not to be accepted 
as the sole criterion of value. It gives one aspect of truth, 
but not the whole truth. There is also another standard 
of value, and the best result will be reached by using 
both. Knowledge sustains another relation to education, 
a secondary and subordinate, but still an important one. 

Another Relation of Knowledge. — Knowledge is an 
end in itself. The acquisition of knowledge is one 
of the purposes of education. Children study and 
are taught that they may know, and that they may 
be able to use their knowledge for practical pur- 
poses. Thus it comes to pass that we have the stand- 
ard of utility, and the value of different branches of 
study is estimated according to their supposed worth 
in money, or the use which can be made of them in 
business affairs and in practical life generally. The 
possession of knowledge, coupled with the ability and 
disposition to use it in the most effective manner for 
securing an honest and honorable living, to improve 
one's own condition and the condition of society, is an 
object worthy of the best efforts of pupils and teachers. 
But the great and sole aim of schools and other means 
of education is not simply to manufacture shrewd lawyers, 



122 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

well instructed physicians, skilful engineers, competent 
managers of business affairs, and trained workmen in 
other departments of industry. These are all needed ; 
but men fully developed and thoroughly trained in 
everything which goes to make up the highest and best 
type of manhood are more needed. The standard of 
utility alone should not be adopted. 

The two Relations not Incompatible. — These two re- 
lations of knowledge to education are not necessarily 
hostile to each other or incompatible. They should both 
be recognized and regarded. Many studies are valuable 
for culture and practically useful at the same time. 
Sometimes the preponderance must be given to one 
class of studies, sometimes to the other, according to 
the demands of time and place. 

Second Deduction : Teaching Defined. — This second 
deduction naturally takes the form of a definition of 
teaching. 

Teaching is the proper preparation and presentation 
of appropriate material for observation and thought to 
the mind of the learner, the presentation being accom- 
panied by all needed instruction and by all necessary 
stimulation and direction of the learner's mental activ- 
ities in grasping, appropriating, and assimilating the 
matter presented. 

What and how much proper preparation and presen- 
tation involve has been partially indicated in the illustra- 
tion borrowed from the analogy of the action of the 
digestive organs. Other points will be noticed in their 
proper place. 

Other Definitions. — " Teaching is causing another to learn. 
Teaching and learning are correlative terms ; where there is 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 1 23 

no learning there can be no teaching. Every one can teach ; 
and, moreover, can teach that which he does not know him- 
self." — Jacotot. 

" It cannot be the duty of the teacher simply to transmit to 
the pupil the material of knowledge or to communicate to him 
ideas, feelings, and sentiments, but to awaken, stimulate, and 
give life to mental activities." — Lange. 

" The two essential steps in teaching are, ( 1 ) the awakening 
of a desire to know, (2) the presenting of the objects to be 
known in such a manner as to occasion the appropriate activity 
of the learner's mind." — White. 

" Teaching is the process by which one mind, from set 
purpose, produces the life-unfolding process in another." — 
Tompkins. 

" Teaching is the presentation of conditions for educative 
self-erTort." 

" Teaching consists in the presentation of the best conditions 
for the exercise of judgment." — Parker. 

The Teacher's Work, — These definitions of teaching 
set forth with sufficient clearness the general work of the 
teacher. It is the teacher's business to place the mind 
of the pupil and the materials of study face to face, so 
to speak ; to bring them into such relations that the 
activities of the soul shall, of necessity, be aroused and 
allured to perform their appropriate work. Having thus 
excited the activities of the soul it is his further duty to 
give them right direction and all needed stimulation. In 
other words, he should teach the child how to observe, 
how to investigate, how to acquire and retain, — in brief, 
how to study, in the true sense of the term. 

Direct and Stimulate with Skill. — But this direction 
and stimulation should be given so wisely and dexter- 
ously that the natural ardor of the child shall not be 



124 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

chilled, nor his individual modes of action be too seri- 
ously interfered with and fettered. As much freedom as 
possible should be left to the pupil. All unnecessary 
restriction and constraint are irksome and irritating. 

Practical Suggestion. — The importance of a high ideal 
cannot be over-estimated. Every teacher should have 
such an ideal. But in the daily work of the school-room 
it is neither necessary nor desirable that the teacher 
should have constant and conscious reference to the 
higher end of education. That will be best attained by 
doing well the ordinary work of instruction and training. 
The ideal is reached, as fully as it ever can be reached, 
by elevating and improving the actual. 

Illustration. — The supreme end for which food is 
eaten is that the body may be developed, nourished, 
perfected. Food is merely a necessary means to this 
high purpose. Does any one when hungry and in a 
state of health ever have constant reference to this end 
in seeking and receiving food? Appetite craves and 
clamors, and we eat to gratify and satisfy its demands 
with little thought or care for anything better or higher. 
Yet the supreme end is most effectively and surely 
reached by being left altogether out of mind at the 
table. Regard is had for this in the previous selection 
and preparation of the articles of diet. 

Application. — In providing for mental growth, strength, 
and perfection the case is essentially the same. Studies 
should be selected and arranged with reference to the 
attainment of the highest end. In the school and class 
the cravings of the mental appetite of the pupil, of curi- 
osity, of love of novelty, of desire for the practical and 
useful, are almost the only things which, need to be con- 
sidered by the teacher. 



LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT. 12$ 

Motives, etc. — It would be worse than useless to at- 
tempt to set some lofty ideal end of study before the 
young pupil. At first the child puts no real value upon 
his acquisitions in knowledge. He estimates these as he 
does the materials for his dinner, according to the degree 
of pleasure he experiences in receiving them. He has 
a mental appetite, which we name curiosity and love of 
activity. The gratification of this gives enjoyment; this 
enjoyment he desires and seeks. To this desire the 
teacher appeals, and, with the very young pupil, aims 
no higher. 

A little later this natural appetite is modified and re- 
enforced by the idea of utility. The growing child dis- 
covers that what he learns is of practical value to him; 
that he can make use of it and gain something by it. 
The teacher addresses this new motive and stimulates it 
to a proper degree, as he did the motive of pleasure. In 
this way the activities of the unfolding powers of the 
pupil are excited and the highest end of development 
and training is secured. Here, as in many other cases, 
progress toward the ideally perfect is all the more cer- 
tain and rapid from the fact that the learner works with- 
out any conscious reference to the ideal or the perfect. 



FOR READING. 

Preyer's Infant Mind. 

Lange's Apperception, Part I., section 3, and Part II., 
section 1. 

Laurie's Institutes of Education, lecture xi. 

Rein's Outlines of Pedagogics, Part II. ; topic, Selection of 
subject-matter of Instruction. 

White's Pedagogy ; topic, Principles of Teaching. 



CHAPTER VII. 

LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 

What the Laws of Development indicate. — The laws 
of development and the deductions from these laws, 
considered in the preceding chapter, indicate the differ- 
ent stages and steps of the processes of education ; the 
essential character of the schools adapted to each of the 
stages; and the general order in which subjects of 
study should be presented. 

They do not determine Method. — They do not, how- 
ever, determine the form and manner of presentation, 
or that which is usually called " method " in teaching. 
The term " method " has fallen into some disrepute in 
consequence of careless use and too frequent repeti- 
tion, but no satisfactory substitute has been furnished 
to express the idea represented. 

What Method is. — Method is merely the way of 
reaching an end. " All method," says Hamilton, " is a 
rational progress, — a progress toward an end." Meth- 
ods in teaching are ways by which the teacher seeks 
to reach some desired result. The method includes 
the whole series of processes and acts involved in ar- 
ranging and presenting the matter of a single lesson or 
of any number of consecutive and related lessons. 

How Methods are determined. — Methods of teaching 
must be determined by the natural modes of the mind's 
activity. The teacher's ways of working must conform 
to the mind's ways of working. Right methods of 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 27 

teaching can be learned only by observing and study- 
ing carefully the forms of activity which the mind 
exhibits, when acting naturally and spontaneously, in 
reaching desired ends. 

Illustrations from Physical Science. — The student of 
physical science seeks to discover how the forces of 
nature act when left to themselves, that he may learn 
the methods by which these forces may be so directed 
as to subserve his purposes and to work for the accom- 
plishment of his ends. He experiments, questions, and 
watches. He listens, follows, and obeys, that he may 
learn how to master and command. Having ascer- 
tained that natural forces act in the presence of certain 
conditions and in a certain order, he creates and ar- 
ranges the required conditions and conforms to the 
necessary order. His methods are merely copies and 
imitations of nature's methods. His success is in pro- 
portion to his ability to discover and appropriate the 
ways of nature. 

What the Teacher does. — The true teacher imitates 
the scientist. In seeking to determine the methods by 
which desired ends can be reached most readily and 
surely, in the school and in the class, he studies to dis- 
cover what forms of activity the learner's mind natu- 
rally puts forth to accomplish certain results ; and in what 
order these forms of activity manifest themselves and 
follow each other; and what conditions and circum- 
stances appear to be necessary to render these mental 
activities most vigorous, most productive, and most 
pleasurable. Having made such discoveries, he has 
only to create the required conditions as the scientist 
does, to follow the mind's own order, and to adopt the 
mind's own method of working. 



128 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Different Forms of Mental Activity. — Some forms of 
mental activity are common to all periods of life, to all 
stages of development, and to all possible conditions. 
These activities are essentially the same in nature and 
character whether they are exhibited by the child or the 
man. They differ in degree of perfection, and in pro- 
ductiveness. Other forms of activity are peculiar to 
certain periods of life, or are predominant in these 
periods, to special stages of development, and to par- 
ticular conditions and circumstances. Some of these 
belong to early childhood, some to youth, and some to 
mature manhood. 

General Laws of Mind. — Statements of these universal 
or general forms of mental activity give us what may be 
called general laws of mind. These constitute primary 
and fundamental principles of the science of education, 
or pedagogics. 

General Laws of Teaching. — From these general laws 
of mind equally general laws of teaching may be de- 
duced. These constitute the basis of the art of teaching, 
or pedagogy. Such general laws determine general 
methods of teaching. 

Special Laws of Mind. — Statements of the forms of 
mental activity peculiar to particular periods and stages 
of development afford special laws of mind. These 
constitute secondary and subordinate principles of the 
science of education. 

Special Laws of Teaching, — From these special and 
subordinate laws of mind subordinate or special laws of 
teaching are deduced. These include most of the so- 
called " educational maxims," and are of practical value 
when rightly applied within proper limits. When ele- 
vated to the rank of general laws, and applied to all 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 29 

periods and all stages of development, they become 
sources of confusion, and lead inexperienced teachers 
into absurd and harmful ways of working. Such subor- 
dinate principles can only determine methods of instruc- 
tion adapted to particular periods, stages, subjects, and 
conditions. 

Object in this Chapter. — In this chapter an effort is 
made to state briefly the most obvious and important 
general forms of mental activity under the head of gen- 
eral laws of mind, and to give the natural deductions 
from these under the head of corresponding laws of 
teaching. If the laws of mind are correctly stated, the 
laws of teaching must be true. 

Four Inquiries. — All that is most essential to the 
teacher in the study of the natural modes of the mind's 
activity can be conveniently considered under four 
heads: (1) How, or in what form, does the mind natu- 
rally grasp or receive the materials of knowledge? (2) 
How, or by what processes, does the mind proceed to 
transform this material into real knowledge, — that is, 
to assimilate it? (3) How, or by what means, does the 
mind retain this knowledge, and reproduce it when de- 
sired? (4) What are the essential conditions of most 
efficient and most productive mental activity, or under 
what conditions can the mind do its best work? If these 
inquiries can be satisfactorily answered, we shall have 
four general laws of mind, and four corresponding laws 
of teaching. 

I. Form in which the Material of Knowledge is received. 

We have first to ascertain in what form the ma- 
terial of knowledge is naturally presented to the 

9 



130 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

mind. The senses are peculiarly the presentative pow- 
ers. Through these the mind receives the beginnings 
of all its acquisitions. The starting-point is sensation. 
Leaving out of consideration the first few days of life, 
the senses of the perfectly formed child are all simulta- 
neously active. Sensations of sight, hearing, touch, 
taste, and smell crowd themselves in upon the mind in a 
confused mass. 

Illustrations. — A peach placed, for the first time, in 
the hands of a child appeals to his knowing powers 
through touch, sight, smell, and taste. Even the child's 
rattle excites sensations of touch, sight, and hearing. 
Almost all natural objects present themselves through 
more than one of the senses. All the material of knowl- 
edge is forced upon the young child in the form of con- 
fused masses and aggregates of sensations. With the 
world as it is, no other method is conceivable. 

The Senses act in the Same Way at all Periods of Life. 
— The senses deal in the same manner at every stage 
of development. A new object, such as a flower or a 
fruit, brought before the adult, excites a similar variety 
of sensations, and presents them in like confused aggre- 
gation. The acquired power to discriminate, select, 
separate, and give attention instantly to one sensation, or 
one class of sensations, and to disregard for the mo- 
ment all others, make the mature mind almost uncon- 
scious of this fact. 

The Activity of any Individual Sense. — Sight. — Not 
only the simultaneous activity of several senses, but also 
the separate activity of any individual sense, confirms the 
truth of the law. All things within the range of vision 
thrust themselves at once and together upon the opened 
eye. All varieties of form, color, size, and surface 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 131 

excite their own peculiar sensations. Each individual 
object offers itself as an indistinct and confused whole, 
however irregular its form, or great its extent, or various 
its colors, or complicated its parts. From any point 
of observation upon which one stands for the first time, 
the eye glances almost instinctively over the whole land- 
scape, however wide, before it fastens itself upon any 
individual object. It takes in the outlines of moun- 
tains, hills, valleys, woodlands, cultivated fields, vil- 
lages, farm-houses, all as one confused whole. On a 
narrower scale, the eye takes in the whole building, the 
whole picture, the whole animal, man, tree, fruit, flower, 
or whatever is presented. 

Limitation of the Whole of Sight. — The whole of sight 
must necessarily be limited by the limits of the power of 
vision. This whole of sight-perception is, therefore, 
often only a little fragment of a greater whole, — a little 
corner of a much wider field. One looking up into the 
sky on a clear night sees but few of the millions of stars ; 
but as far as it can penetrate, the eye notices first the 
obscure and confused whole. By previous instruction 
or agreement, the attention may be directed to some 
small part of the great whole, or to some particular ele- 
ment of the aggregation. In this case, the mind acts by 
compulsion and restraint, and not spontaneously. 

Action of the Sense of Hearing. — The action of the 
ear is similar to that of the eye. The sensations and 
percepts of hearing are of the same character as those 
of sight in respect to extent. The whole multitude 
of sounds with which the air may be filled at any 
time strike upon the auditory nerves, and demand ad- 
mission at the same instant. All the notes of an or- 
chestra, and all the tones uttered by the hundred voices 



132 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS, 

of a choir, present themselves as one great aggregate of 
musical sounds to the sense of hearing. The voices 
of a crowd conversing mingle into a confused volume 
of sounds. 

Action of the other Senses. — The senses of touch, 
smell, and taste act within narrower limits than those of 
sight and hearing, but their actions conform to the same 
general law. 

Action of the Representative Powers. — An appeal to 
consciousness or to observation shows that the repre- 
sentative powers are subject to the same law in their 
action. They seek to form at once a complete mental 
picture or notion of anything described or recalled. 
An outline, dim and shadowy perhaps, is produced, as 
speedily as possible, of the whole scene, event, transac- 
tion, proposition, or problem brought before the mind. 
The thinking powers demand this general view of the 
whole before they commence to exercise their peculiar 
activities. The whole proposition, in outline at least, 
must be presented before the judgment will consider it; 
the whole problem before its solution will be attempted; 
the whole picture before a decision is made as to its 
beauty; the whole plan before its feasibility can be 
passed upon. 

The Mind insists upon beginning with the Whole. — The 
mind, in all its various modes of activity, insists upon 
beginning its work of getting real and definite knowl- 
edge, as far as possible, with some sort of a whole. If 
the great whole is too extensive to be apprehended by 
a single effort, it seeks for some subordinate unit or part 
of this which shall contain the element of completeness 
in itself, and which can be considered in such a way 
that satisfactory conclusions and definite results may be 
reached. 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 33 

Necessary Inference from the Law. — The inference from 
this law, which may be called the law of apprehension, 
in respect to the presentation of topics of study and 
investigation to the learner, is obvious. The teacher 
should adopt such a method that the mind can exercise 
freely its own natural modes of action upon the matter 
presented. Subjects and objects should be brought 
before the child in the school, as they are elsewhere, as 
wholes or units. The element of completeness should 
be contained in every presentation. 

II. How the Mind proceeds in Assimilating the Material 
received, or in Transforming it into real Knowledge. 

Hamilton says : — 

"This is what appears to me to take place with children. 
They first know, they first cognize the things and persons pre- 
sented to them as wholes. But wholes of the same kind, if we 
do not descend to their parts, afford us no difference, — no 
mark by which we can discriminate the one from the other. 

"We may make a single object of attention either of a 
whole man, or of his face, or of his eye, or of the pupil of his 
eye, or of a speck upon the pupil. To each of these objects 
there can be only a certain amount of attentive perception 
applied, and we can concentrate it all on any one. In propor- 
tion as the object is larger and more complex, our attention 
can of course be less applied to any part of it, and conse- 
quently our knowledge of it in detail will be vague and more 
imperfect. But having first acquired a comprehensive [gen- 
eral and vague] knowledge of it as a whole, we can descend 
to its several parts, consider these both in themselves, and in 
relation to each other, and to the whole of which they are 
constituents, and thus attain to a complete and articulate 
knowledge of the object. We decompose, and then we re- 



134 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

compose. But in this we always proceed first by decomposi- 
tion, or analysis. The first procedure of mind in the elaboration 
of its knowledge is always analytical. It descends from the 
whole to the parts, from the vague to the definite." 

In this work the mental processes of the child are 
evidently the same as those of the man. Both grasp 
and observe first the whole ; then analyze it, discrimi- 
nate its elements and parts and compare them, thus dis- 
covering the points of difference and resemblance. 

Mr. Sully says : — 

" The essential operation in all varieties of knowing is the 
detecting of relations between things. The most comprehen- 
sive relations are difference or unlikeness, and agreement or 
likeness. All knowledge means discriminating one impres- 
sion, object, or idea from another or others, and assimilating it 
yet to another or others. I perceive an object as a rose only 
when I see how it differs from other objects, and more espe- 
cially from other varieties of flowers, and at the same time 
recognize its likeness to other roses previously seen." 

Experience. — Personal experience and observation 
unite in testifying to the correctness of these statements. 
It is obvious enough that the mind, having first grasped 
or apprehended the whole in a very general and indefi- 
nite way, proceeds immediately and spontaneously to 
direct its attention to one part or element, and then to 
another, until all the parts or elements have been in 
turn thoroughly examined. The indefinite and compar- 
atively valueless notion, obtained by mere apprehension 
of the mass, is replaced or succeeded by the clear, full, 
and accurate knowledge of complete comprehension 
secured by the separation and subsequent reuniting of 
the elements. 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 35 

III. How Knowledge is Retained and Reproduced. 

We are next concerned to ascertain how the mind 
naturally and spontaneously assimilates and arranges 
its acquisitions so that they may be surely and readily 
reproduced. By an appeal to consciousness, we dis- 
cover that the elements of our knowledge, the various 
things which have been successively learned, do not re- 
main separate and distinct in the mind, but have in 
some way become united into an orderly, well-arranged, 
compact whole. Every new acquisition has entered into 
union with previous acquisitions, has been modified by 
them and assimilated to them. Sometimes it has hap- 
pened that the new has modified the old in entering 
into union with it; new facts have compelled old ones 
to assume new forms, to take on different aspects, 
to submit to more or less of modification in various 
directions. 

Effort of Mind. — We discover that the mind naturally 
endeavors to unite the new with the old, to place new 
individual objects in previously formed classes, to sub- 
ordinate new ideas, as far as possible, to old ones, and 
to reject the new if it cannot be assimilated with the 
old. We discover that union takes place between the 
materials of knowledge, between the parts and elements 
of new things, and between the new and the old, only 
when certain relations exist between them. Like will 
unite with like; similar with similar; opposites with 
opposites, if they are natural complements of each other ; 
the merely contiguous with the contiguous, under cer- 
tain conditions. The relations which cause such unions 
are called laws of assimilation or association, and are 
supposed to be familiar to students of psychology. 



136 



A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 



Conclusions. — The results of our study thus far of the 
spontaneous modes of mental activity may conveniently 
take the form of certain general laws of mind and of 
correlated laws of teaching. 



General Laws of Mind. 

I. First Law of Mind: 
Law of Apprehension. — The 
mind, at all periods of devel- 
opment, naturally grasps or 
receives the material of knowl- 
edge in the form of aggre- 
gates, wholes, or units, as far 
as this is possible. 

II. Second Law of Mind : 
Law of Comprehension, or 
Learning. 

{a) In studying, arranging, 
and assimilating the materials 
of knowledge received, the 
mind proceeds, first, by way 
of analysis, from wholes to 
parts, from aggregates to ele- 
ments, thus attaining definite 
and complete knowledge. 

(7?) Secondly, the mind pro- 
ceeds to unite the new knowl- 
edge with its previous acqui- 
sitions, and also, by way of 
synthesis, to unite the parts 
and elements which it has 
found into new wholes, thus 
extending its knowledge and 
rendering it productive. 



General Laws of Teaching. 

I. First Law of Teaching: 
Law of Presentation. — The 
teacher should present the 
material of knowledge to 
the mind of the learner in the 
form of aggregates, wholes, or 
units, as far as possible. 

II. Second Law of Teach- 
ing : Law of Instruction. 

(a) The teacher, in aiding 
the learner to acquire definite 
and complete knowledge, 
should proceed, first, by care- 
ful and systematic analysis, 
from wholes to parts, from 
aggregates to elements, giving 
all needed explanations and 
illustrations. 

(b) Secondly, he should 
assist the learner in discover- 
ing the natural relationships 
between the new and previous 
acquisitions, and should also 
give him much practice in 
forming new wholes from the 
parts and elements obtained 
by analysis. 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 37 

III. Third Law of Mind : III. Third Law of Teach- 

Law of Retention and Repror ing : Law of Assimilation a?id 

duction. — The mind assimi- Association. — The teacher, in 

lates, retains, and reproduces preparing and arranging the 

its acquisitions by the use matter of lessons, and in giv- 

of certain natural relations, ing instruction, should have 

called principles or laws of constant reference to the nat- 

association. The effectiveness ural principles or laws of asso- 

of these laws is largely in- ciation, and should endeavor 

creased by certain conditions to produce in pupils favorable 

of body and mind. conditions both of body and 

mind. 

Applications. — These are the great fundamental laws 
of learning and teaching. Their proper application 
covers a large part of the teacher's work in all classes 
of schools. Such applications will be best illustrated 
and understood by some practical examples borrowed 
from the common branches of study. 

Discrimination of Sensations. — Up to the time of enter- 
ing school, the child has been learning chiefly through 
his senses. Impressions made upon the various sen- 
sory nerves have produced in the mind confused and 
crowded masses of sensations. The earliest conscious 
psychical activity consisted in the recognition and dis- 
crimination of sensations. From the confused aggre- 
gate forced in upon the soul, one kind of sensations was 
first distinguished from another kind. Sensations of 
sight were distinguished from those of hearing; sensa- 
tions of taste from those of smell ; sensations of touch 
from all others. 

Discrimination of Percepts. — As perception immedi- 
ately follows sensation, the objects which excite sensa- 
tions were next discriminated. From the great mass of 



138 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

objects surrounding him, the child began, by an incip- 
ient and imperfect analysis, to distinguish one object 
from another and from all others. Within a short time, 
by an equally imperfect synthesis, he commenced to 
group together into rudimentary classes objects in which 
he discovered resemblances. Thus early the funda- 
mental activities of discrimination and assimilation be- 
gan to manifest themselves. The relations of likeness 
and unlikeness, of similarity and contrast, and probably 
even of contiguity, are spontaneously, and perhaps un- 
consciously, made the bases of union and of separation. 

At School Age. — At school age the child has made 
wonderful acquisitions of knowledge. He has become 
acquainted, in a general and superficial way, with hun- 
dreds of objects, with almost innumerable qualities and 
characteristics of these objects, with the spoken signs 
of all these objects and qualities, and he has associated, 
without conscious effort, these objects and the signs by 
which they are named and described. He has been 
constantly grasping the wholes within reach of any of 
his senses, analyzing them, imperfectly indeed, but as 
well as his unfolding powers enable him to perform the 
work, discriminating, comparing, separating, and com- 
bining. He has already a considerable mass of par- 
tially compacted knowledge, ready and waiting to be 
of service in the work of the school. 

Beginning of School Work. — The wisdom of the school 
and the teacher will be manifested by meeting the child 
on his own ground, by making skilful use of his previ- 
ous acquisitions, and by following the order and method 
which the child has been following under the impulsion 
and guidance of his own nature. Sense-perception is 
still the predominating mental activity. School instruc- 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 39 

tion will recognize this fact, and will begin with objects 
and objective methods, not forgetting that provision 
should be made to give appropriate exercise to the 
representative and thinking activities. 

Teacher's Office. — The teacher's office, as indicated 
by these laws, is, first to separate the subject matter of 
any study into natural and appropriate parts or units, 
and to present these successively, at proper times and 
in proper form and manner, to his class. Having made 
such presentation, he should proceed to aid and guide 
in the processes of analysis, discrimination, and com- 
parison, and in the subsequent synthesis, giving all 
needed direction and stimulation to the mental activi- 
ties. The mind of the child will usually take the right 
direction if matter is properly presented, and if there 
are not too many interferences and hindrances on the 
part of the teacher, under the name of helps. The 
spontaneous power of self-direction in the mind is often 
underestimated, and the child's self-reliance is destroyed 
by an over-much of what is called assistance. One 
does not learn to walk alone by being always carried 
or led. 

Applications of Laws. — The practical application of 
the laws of teaching will be best understood by con- 
crete examples borrowed from school work in some of 
the common branches of study. In the earliest school 
instruction much use is made of real objects, the objects 
employed being sometimes selected and arranged ac- 
cording to a regular, predetermined plan, and some- 
times without any apparent plan or purpose. Such 
instruction is named " object teaching," " science teach- 
ing," or-" language work," according to the fancy of the 
teacher. The work done is essentially the same, what- 



140 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

ever name may be applied to it, or whatever order may 
be adopted. The child is learning objects, qualities, 
acts, and relations, and the names or signs by which 
these are designated and described, and is associating 
these together so that hereafter either will readily sug- 
gest the other. Each new object, or quality, or act, is 
interpreted by previous acquisitions, is assimilated to 
them and classified with them, as far as possible, and in 
turn becomes the means of interpreting and assimilating 
other new acquisitions. A single example will be suffi- 
cient to illustrate these various processes. 

Example of an Object Lesson. — Suppose an orange pre- 
sented for examination to a child who has had no pre- 
vious acquaintance with oranges. He immediately, 
spontaneously, and almost unconsciously compares it, 
in respect to general appearance, with objects previously 
known which it most resembles, and names it accord- 
ingly, if no name is given him. This is, in effect, hasty 
and imperfect classification, to be confirmed, or modi- 
fied and corrected, by further and more complete 
knowledge. 

Steps of Progress. — The first impression consists of a 
confused aggregate of sensations, resulting in an inde- 
finite notion or percept of a small mass of matter of a 
certain form and color having a peculiar odor. With a 
little guidance the child proceeds to analyze this aggre- 
gate of sensations and to discover what each of the 
senses has contributed to the mass, and, consequently, 
what qualities or characteristics are combined to make 
up that something which as a whole is named orange. 
Sight has furnished the partial percept of color; sight 
and touch have contributed partial percepts of size, 
form, character of surface, and, if the orange is dis- 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 141 

sected, of the various parts ; smell has revealed the 
odor, and taste, the flavor ; touch, with muscular exer- 
tion, has given information as to weight and hardness or 
softness. Through this analysis, definite and complete 
knowledge of all the parts, qualities, and characteristics 
is obtained. 

The Result. — The union or synthesis of all these 
partial concepts, made spontaneously by the mind of 
the learner, gives the complex and complete percept of 
the object, which now takes its place among the per- 
manent acquisitions of the child, being properly assimi- 
lated and combined with previous knowledge. In this 
case the teacher's work consists mainly in giving wise 
direction to the spontaneous activities of the pupil, 
checking his tendency to dwell too much upon the 
accidental and unimportant, securing an orderly and 
consecutive progress in passing from one part or quality 
to another, and supplying such new words as may be 
necessary for the proper expression of the new ideas. 
The method of procedure will be essentially the same 
in all lessons upon individual objects, and in many 
lessons in elementary science. When the purpose, in 
science teaching, is to reach the conception of a class 
or of a general truth, other steps must be introduced, 
which will be considered in another place. 

Elementary Reading-Lessons. — Methods of teaching 
young children to read naturally fall into two classes, 
the analytic and synthetic. The distinction, however, 
disappears practically after the child has made a few 
steps of progress, and analysis and synthesis are both 
employed in securing the best results. The alphabetic 
and phonic methods are both synthetic. The first com- 
mences with elements addressed to the eye, letters; 



142 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

the second begins with elements addressed to the ear, 
sounds. Both proceed to combine elements, by a syn- 
thetic process, into wholes in the form of words and 
sentences. Three other methods, though the three are 
really only one, the word, sentence, and thought meth- 
ods, are analytic, beginning with wholes in the form of 
single words or short and simple sentences. After a 
few words or sentences have been taught as wholes, 
they are separated into their elements, that is, into 
single letters and sounds by analysis. These elements 
are then combined by synthesis to form new words and 
sentences. 

The Correct Method. — It is easy to see that the ana- 
lytic methods conform to the general laws of mind, and 
should for that reason be preferred. In all teaching 
the maxim, " Proceed from the known to the unknown, " 
rightly interpreted, should be regarded. The maxim 
may be understood to mean this : when presenting a 
new subject or a new lesson to a child, make what the 
child already knows the starting-point, and from this 
lead him, by natural and easy steps, to grasp and master 
the new, the now unknown thing. The known, selected 
as the point of departure, should be chosen with careful 
reference to some obvious relation existing between it 
and the unknown thing which is to be learned. 

The Known to the Child in the Reading-Lesson. — The 
child, commencing to learn to read, knows many objects, 
qualities, acts, and relations of things ; and he also 
knows the spoken names or signs of all these. The 
spoken signs, that is, the words, are known as wholes ; 
and the words and what they represent are thoroughly 
associated in the mind, so that either will immediately 
suggest the other. So much is the known. The un- 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING, 143 

known consists of new signs, addressed to the eye, that 
is, written and printed words. These are to be learned 
and mentally associated with the spoken words and also 
with the objects and acts which they represent. The 
spoken word, or sentence, is here the starting-point. 
The step from this to the written word, or sentence, 
taken as a whole, is short, direct, and easy. It conforms 
to the law: Begin with the whole, or with a unit. 

First Step. — Teach first, therefore, a number of words 
or short sentences as wholes. This work can be done 
most effectively by the use of the blackboard and 
crayon. The maxim, " One thing at a time" should be 
kept in mind. Do not try to teach too many new 
words at one lesson. Sometimes a single new word 
will be enough. When the new words have certain 
similarities to words already taught, several may be 
included in a lesson, perhaps three or four. Suppose 
the sentence, " The boy runs," has been taught. Taking 
this as a beginning, introduce new words to form the 
sentences, The girl runs, The horse runs, The dog runs, 
and so on indefinitely. The sentence may be varied in 
other ways ; as : The boy walks, The boy sits, The boy 
stands ; or, after several nouns and verbs have been 
learned, in this way: The boy runs up the hill ; The 
boy runs down the hill; The boy runs over the hill. 
Another change should be made at the proper time, 
by introducing the plural number, as : The boys rim. 
The attention of the class should be directed to the 
slight changes in the forms of the words, and several 
sentences should be taught, to illustrate these changes. 

These examples are sufficient to show what is meant 
by beginning with a whole in teaching young children 
to read. This method imitates and follows nature, and 



144 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

it also goes from the known to the unknown in a natural 
way. This is merely the first step, however. 

The Second Step. — The second step is to analyze or 
separate the words which have been learned as wholes, 
into their parts or elements ; that is, into the separate 
letters and sounds of which they are composed. Until 
this is done they are not thoroughly learned. This 
analysis should be made clear both to the eye and ear. 
For example the word dog may be written on the board 
in the usual form, and pronounced in the usual manner. 
Then it may be written with the letters separated, thus : 
dog, and the sound of each letter may be uttered 
separately and distinctly. In this way, or in some 
other, if a different way is preferred, the work of analy- 
sis should be carried on until all the letters are learned, 
and most of the elementary sounds. The diacritical 
marks may be taught and learned in connection with 
this analysis. 

The Third Step. — Pupils are now prepared, if the work 
thus far has been thoroughly done, to begin the third 
step, the synthetic work. This consists in combining 
the parts and elements obtained by analysis to form new 
words and sentences. The child is now able to learn 
new words with very little assistance, and to carry on 
both the analytic and synthetic work very easily and 
rapidly. Analysis precedes and prepares the way for 
synthesis, but from this point both processes are con- 
stantly employed. 

Principles of' Association employed. — In teaching ele- 
mentary reading, the first law of association employed 
is that which binds together the sign, that is the name, 
with the thing signified, the object, act, and so forth. 
The end sought in teaching, at this time, is to make this 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 45 

association so firm that the thing will instantly suggest 
the sign, or the sign the thing, and also to associate the 
oral sign or word with the written one so thoroughly 
that either will immediately suggest the other The 
child is not prepared to use a book profitably until this 
has been accomplished. 

The law of similarity also does valuable service in 
the early stages of this work, as it does in the more 
advanced stages. If the form and sound of the letters 
at have been learned in the word cat, they should be 
recognized at once in the new words presented, such as 
hat> sat, rat, mat. If the sentence, "I have a book," has 
been taught, then the similarity of such sentences as 
" You have a book," " We have a book," and so on, will 
make the work of learning very easy. Examples might 
be multiplied, but these are sufficient to show in what 
direction the teacher's duty lies. This law of similarity 
is of constant service in all language work from the 
lowest to the highest grades, and should be observed in 
the preparation and arrangement of all lessons. 

Laws applied to teaching Language. — In the more 
formal study of language, of which learning to read is 
the beginning, the sentence is the natural unit, since it 
represents or expresses a complete notion or idea. 
Instruction should, consequently, according to the law 
of presentation, commence with the sentence. Begin 
here, as in teaching reading, with what children already 
know, that is, with familiar oral sentences. The work 
may conveniently be divided in successive steps. 

First Step. — Teach children to express their ideas 
concerning common objects and acts in correct oral 
sentences. Give much practice in this, guiding them 
by questions and suggestions to form all the various 



146 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

kinds of simple sentences. When mistakes are made, 
lead them to make corrections for themselves, as far as 
this is possible without waste of time. 

Second Step. — As soon as children are able to write 
with some facility, give them abundant practice in 
writing sentences of all kinds. Interest in this work 
will be increased by having the sentences united to form 
connected descriptions and short stories. Simple stories 
may be read or told by the teacher or by some of the 
pupils, and the children may reproduce these, some- 
times orally, sometimes in writing. This kind of lan- 
guage work, with natural variations and additions, should 
be continued through all the primary grades. Sentences 
of all forms and varieties are thus learned as wholes. 

Third Step : Analysis. — After a good degree of 
facility in constructing sentences has been acquired, 
the work of analysis should be commenced. First the 
main parts of sentences, the subject and the predicate, 
should be learned ; then, one after another, the various 
modifiers ; and finally, all the parts of speech with their 
variations of form and use. This part of the work 
should not be hastened, and everything should be made 
as clear as possible. 

Fourth Step: Synthesis. — The synthetic work, which 
consists in putting together the elements of sentences 
to form new sentences, should be commenced in con- 
nection with the analysis, or as soon as the elements 
and parts are well understood. Exercises in forming 
sentences containing particular nouns, verbs, adjectives, 
adverbs, prepositions, and so on, will be profitable and 
interesting. As pupils advance in their work the syn- 
thetic processes will include the writing of stories, 
essays, and descriptions of various kinds. 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 147 

The Productive Work. — It should be observed that 
here, as in all studies, the analytic work is, in reality, 
only preparatory to the synthetic, The latter is the 
productive work. Too much time and labor are fre- 
quently spent upon analysis, and too little upon the 
constructive processes. The ability to take things to 
pieces is of less value than the skill which helps one to 
put them together, or to make similar new things. 

Laws of Association. — In language work the laws of 
association are essentially the same as in elementary 
reading. During the early stages in both these studies, 
form is the important thing. Consequently the associ- 
ation most employed is that of the " sign and the thing 
signified," the form with the substance which it clothes, 
the symbol with that which it symbolizes. 

The law of similarity will be of constant service in 
fixing in memory the essential parts of all sentences, 
the order of these parts, the position of words in the 
sentence, and the few changes in the forms of words. 
The law of contrast will find occasional but not frequent 
use. The assimilation of new knowledge with that pre- 
viously acquired, will demand constant attention in the 
study of language as in all other studies. 

Laws applied to teaching Geography. — The first whole 
of the child, so far as the world is concerned, is that 
portion of it with which he can become acquainted 
through his senses. The preliminary work in geog- 
raphy, therefore, naturally begins with familiar, oral 
lessons upon the position of objects, upon direction, 
distance, and comparative size and extent. The school- 
room and the objects in the room afford the starting 
point. Lessons follow upon the school grounds, upon 
the immediate neighborhood, the school district, the 



148 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

town or city. Ideas will thus be obtained of natural 
divisions of land and water, of rivers, lakes, hills, moun- 
tains, valleys, and plains ; also, of boundaries, both natu- 
ral and artificial, and of some of the simplest civil 
divisions. Miniature representations of these objects 
may be made upon the sand-table. 

This local study will be made more or less extended 
according to the taste and judgment of the teacher, and 
according to surrounding conditions ; some localities 
afford much more material for profitable study than 
others. 

After this early preliminary work has been com- 
pleted, the general laws of teaching indicate that 
instruction should begin with outlines upon maps and 
globes. The whole with which one commences may 
be an outline map, upon the blackboard, of a township, 
a county, a state, or any other selected unit, or it may 
be an outline of a continent 

The pupil, having become acquainted with the out- 
line by actually drawing it, proceeds to fill in the details 
and particulars as minutely as may be desired. 

As previously stated, it is not the purpose here to 
enter into extended methods of teaching particular 
branches of study, but merely to indicate and illustrate 
some of the applications of the general laws of mind 
and correlated laws of teaching. Having studied the 
laws it will be easy for intelligent instructors to make 
for themselves similar applications to all branches. 

Association in Geography and History. — In geography 
and history things will be associated and assimilated, 
to a considerable extent, under the laws of similarity 
and contrast, but in geography the law of contiguity 
will be of especial service. Rivers are readily learned 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 49 

and associated by following coast-lines; towns and 
cities are associated in the same way, or by following 
lines of travel along railroads and waterways. Real and 
imaginary journeys illustrate this law of grouping and 
associating. Industries are associated with the places 
where they are carried on; agricultural and other 
products with the localities which produce them. Per- 
sons, places, and events are associated together both in 
geography and history. In advanced teaching the law 
of cause and effect is of much value ; causes are found 
for the location and growth of cities ; for the rise and 
decline of states and nations, for the prominence now 
of one people, and now of another. The characters of 
men are associated with the conditions which fashioned 
them, and with their influence upon the age in which 
they lived and upon subsequent ages. 

Cultivation of Memory. — Without further reference to 
particular branches of study, these illustrations are 
sufficient to indicate how memory is cultivated, and 
how knowledge is assimilated, associated, and made 
the permanent possession of the mind, and how sub- 
sequently it may be recalled and rendered available 
for practical service. Much teaching and many lessons 
amount to nothing because no proper use is made of 
the principles of association in the preparation and 
presentation of matters of instruction. All valuable 
training of the memory depends upon making such 
arrangement of the matter to be remembered, and upon 
producing such conditions, that the mind can act freely 
and vigorously according to its own natural laws. 
Artificial systems for cultivating and increasing the 
power of retention and reproduction have very little 
value. 



ISO A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Combination of Analysis and Synthesis. — The examples 
given are sufficient to suggest proper applications of the 
laws of presentation and instruction to methods of 
teaching the common branches of study. In many 
cases the processes of analysis and synthesis will be 
less distinctly marked than in the examples given. In 
some cases the two processes will appear in the same 
lesson, ancreven in the solution of a single problem, or 
in the investigation of a single proposition. There is no 
purely and exclusively analytic or synthetic method of 
teaching except in the domain of abstract theory. 

Application to Higher Branches. — The applications of 
these laws to methods of instruction in some of the 
higher branches of study are less obvious. In many 
cases no complete general outline of the entire field of 
investigation can be made at the commencement of the 
work, though in almost all cases an approximation to 
such an outline is possible. In some departments pro- 
gress is necessarily step by step, each advance adding a 
new fact, principle, law, or illustration. In such cases 
each individual fact, principle, or law, constitutes, for the 
time, a whole. And reference to consciousness shows 
that the mind holds itself in suspense and refuses to 
make any affirmation, to pronounce any definite judg- 
ment, until the subject-matter of study assumes, at 
least, an appearance of completeness. 

Attitude of the Mind in Investigation. — This is the 
usual and proper attitude of the mind when examining 
unsettled questions, or exploring new fields whose 
boundaries are still indefinite and uncertain. It adopts 
and follows the method of investigation and dis- 
covery, which necessarily differs in some respects 
from the method of instruction to which the laws 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 151 

more especially refer. In the one case the mind is 
reaching out into the unknown, and laying hold upon 
whatever it can find for examination. In the other case 
it is dealing with acknowledged facts and with ascer- 
tained truths and principles. In the one case it is 
laboring to make science ; in the other to learn science 
already established and formulated. Naturally the 
methods employed for purposes so unlike will exhibit 
considerable differences. 

IV. Fourth Law of Mind : IV. Fourth Law of Teach- 

Law of Efficiency . — The mind ing : Law of Adaptation. — 

can receive only a limited The teacher should present 

amount of matter at one only a properly limited amount 

time, and, while subjects of of matter to the mind of a 

study should be properly pupil at one time, and, while 

correlated, yet, in order to he should take care to secure 

secure the most vigorous and proper correlation of studies, 

productive activity, the mind yet he should provide for 

must have some variety in sufficient variety in subjects 

subjects of study, and periods of study and for periods of 

of relaxation and rest. relaxation and rest. 

Two extremes are to be avoided in the selection, 
arrangement, and presentation to an individual or to a 
class of matter for study. In either physical or mental 
movement time and energy are needlessly wasted by 
unnecessary and too frequent change of direction. On 
the other hand, movement over a uniform surface, in the 
same direction, and at an unvarying rate, results in 
great weariness and in lack of vivacity and interest. In 
bodily movement, a little up and down, an occasional 
turn to the right or left, a quicker or slower pace now 
and then, relieve the feeling of weariness, break up the 



152 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

monotony, render effort more agreeable and less ex- 
hausting, and make progress generally more rapid. 
The ups and downs must not be too numerous, the turns 
must not be too frequent, and the changes must not be 
too abrupt or too violent. 

Mental movements arc subject to the same laws of 
fatigue and relief, of exhaustion and recovery, of pain 
and pleasure. Concentration of mental energy upon 
few subjects, and a good degree of uniformity of move- 
ment in one direction are absolutely necessary to the 
attainment of high excellency in any department of 
study. Courses of instruction should be constructed 
with reference to this admitted truth in order to avoid 
mental dissipation and waste of energy. At the same 
time it must be remembered that the demand of the 
mind for some variety is as imperative as that of the 
body. The mental highway should have some ups 
and downs and occasional turns to the right and left. 
This should be taken into account in the selection of 
subjects of study for a class, and in the arrangement of 
the program for daily recitations. 

Length of Lessons. — In respect to the length of lessons 
in different branches of study no definite rules can be 
given. Only general suggestions can be made, but the 
matter is of such importance as to demand careful con- 
sideration on the part of all teachers. Generally young 
and inexperienced teachers assign longer lessons than 
older and more experienced ones. When possible, the 
matter of a lesson should have a good degree of 
completeness and unity, and should be susceptible of 
natural subdivision. 

Some Things to be Considered. — Several things must 
be taken into account: (i) the general ability and 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 53 

previous training of a class. Considerable differences 
are found in the average ability of different classes; 
(2) the nature of the study. Some studies require 
more time and thought than others; (3) the number 
of studies pursued by a class at the same time. A class 
with only two or three studies can take longer lessons 
than one with four or more ; (4) the time given to a 
recitation. A recitation occupying thirty or forty 
minutes may properly cover more ground than one 
confined to fifteen or twenty minutes ; (5) the method 
of teaching. Some so-called teachers merely hear reci- 
tations ; others do some actual teaching. As a rule it 
requires more time to teach than it does simply to 
listen while pupils repeat what they have learned. It 
should be understood, both by teachers and scholars, 
that the number of pages of a text-book " gone over " 
is no certain criterion of the actual progress made by 
a class. A small amount of matter thoroughly mastered 
is worth more than twice the amount " skimmed over " 
and not half learned. Generally only one or two really 
important points should be included in a single lesson 
for young children. The concentration of attention, 
thought, and effort upon one thing at one time is the 
prime condition of fruitful study. 

Assignment of Lessons. — Lessons should be assigned 
with great care, especially to young children. It is not 
sufficient to say, Take so many pages or so many para- 
graphs. The precise things to be learned should be 
pointed out, and all matters of special importance should 
be indicated. Children often waste much time in fruit- 
less effort because they are not properly directed. It 
is safe to say that no teacher can assign a lesson wisely 
unless he has himself thoroughly and freshly prepared it. 



154 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Rest and Change Important. — The importance of re- 
laxation and rest of mind can hardly be overestimated. 
The efficiency and productiveness of any form of mental 
activity depend very largely, indeed almost entirely, 
upon the freshness and vigor of the mind. Scholars 
sometimes estimate their merits as students by the 
number of times a lesson has been studied over, or by 
the number of hours occupied in so-called studying, 
One might as well estimate his merits as a traveller by 
the number of hours spent on the road. The prime 
factor both in study and travel is the rate of speed : 
and the rate must, in most cases, depend upon the 
freshness of the student or the traveller. The aim of 
every student should be to acquire the power to do a 
certain amount of mental labor in the shortest time in 
which it can be well done. The aim of the teacher 
should be to help the pupil in the acquisition of this 
power. He will do this most effectively by teaching 
him how to work, how to study, and how to secure 
relaxation and rest. We are here considering the 
resting. 

Sleep. — (i) Perfect rest, either of body or mind, is 
found only in natural and profound sleep. Such sleep 
usually appears to be dreamless. So-called sleep, in- 
duced by drugs or other artificial means, lacks the 
curative and restorative power of natural sleep. It is 
now generally admitted that " brain-workers " need as 
much sleep as men engaged in hard manual labor. 
The average required, according to the best authorities, 
is about eight hours out of the twenty-four. A tempo- 
rary gain may seem to be secured by reducing the 
hours of sleep, but the result in the end is usually a 
real loss. 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 55 

Physical Exercises. — (2) Next to sleep, appropriate 
forms of physical exercise afford the best mental relax- 
ation. Such exercises must be adapted to the age, to 
the condition of the body, to the previous habits of the 
individual, and to surrounding circumstances. The 
important consideration is that the form of exercise 
shall occupy the attention without severely taxing the 
mental powers. 

In School. — In the primary school, lessons and physi- 
cal exercise of some appropriate kind should alternate. 
Lessons should be short, full of energy and life, and so 
conducted as to command and absorb every thought 
and energy of the children. Equally absorbing periods 
of physical exercise should follow. In more advanced 
grades light gymnastics, calisthenics, and other forms 
of exercise should be introduced as much as circum- 
stances will permit. 

Alternation of Studies. — (3) In all grades, but espe- 
cially in the high school, mental relaxation and relief 
must be obtained by suitable alternation of studies. 
Provision must be made for such alternation in the pro- 
gram of recitations and other exercises. Opportunity 
should be given, as far as possible, for the exercise in 
turn of the three modes of mental activity, the percep- 
tive, the representative, and the thinking. 

Order of Recitations. — Keeping in view the mental 
activities exercised by the different branches of study, 
it will be easy to provide for the necessary alternations 
of psychical action. The order in a program may be 
greatly varied. It may be reading, arithmetic, gram- 
mar; or mathematics, science, language, as geometry, 
zoology or botany, Latin or literature, or any one of 
several other possible arrangements. As a rule, studies 



156 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

which demand vigorous and protracted thinking, and 
very close and accurate analysis should be placed in 
the early part of the day; and those lessons which 
require only a moderate degree of mental exertion, and 
allow considerable exercise of body, should be placed 
near the close of the day. Yet the difficult and the 
easy, the heavy and the light, should be interspersed, 
to some extent, throughout the entire program. 



FOR READING. 

Hamilton's Lectures on Metaphysics, lecture vi. and lecture 
xxxvi., last part. 

Bain's Education as a Science, chapter hi., first part. 

Lange's Apperception, Part II., section 3. 

McMurry's General Method, chapters iv. and viii. 

Laurie's Institutes of Education, lecture vi. 

Fitch's Lectures on Education, lecture v. 

Rein's Outlines of Pedagogics, Part II., Theory of Instruction. 

McLellan's Applied Psychology, chapter iv. 

White's Pedagogy ; topic, Methods of Teaching. 

Compayre's Lectures on Teaching, Part I., chapter viii., and 
Part II., chapter i. 

Morgan's Studies in Pedagogy, chapter xiii., Methodology. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SUBORDINATE OR SPECIAL LAWS OF MIND AND OF 
TEACHING. 

Special Modes of Mental Activity. — As previously 
stated, each period of development has some modes of 
psychical activity in a large degree peculiar to itself. 
These forms of mental action appear, indeed, at all 
periods, but they do not exhibit the same relative degree 
of prominence and vigor. 

Statements of these forms of activity give what may 
be called subordinate or special laws of mind; and 
inferences from these laws of mind afford subordinate or 
special laws of teaching. These special laws of teaching 
include the substance of many of the so-called " edu- 
cational maxims," some of which are borrowed without 
credit from Comenius. Harm has been done, in some 
cases, by elevating these maxims to the rank of universal 
or general truths. They render valuable service when 
their meaning is clearly understood and their appli- 
cations properly limited. 

In this chapter attention is confined mainly to modes 
of psychical activity which manifest themselves con- 
tinually and with peculiar energy in the period of 
childhood. The supreme importance of correct inter- 
pretations of the movements of the child's mind and, 



i 5 8 



A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 



consequently, the importance of good elementary teach- 
ing, will be a sufficient justification of such limitation. 

Correlated Laws. — As a matter of convenience, and 
also as an aid to the memory, several of these laws, both 
of mind and of teaching, are here presented in two 
correlated parts, one part referring to an earlier, the 
other to a little later period of mental development. 



Special Laws of Mind. 

First Law. (a) In his early- 
learning the child must begin 
with the concrete, — that is, 
with objects, acts, and quali- 
ties; these cause the pro- 
duction of ideas ; words are 
then needed as signs to name 
and describe the objects and 
ideas. The order is : (i) ob- 
jects, (2) ideas, (3) words. 

(b) A little later, when 
words and the things which 
they signify have become 
thoroughly associated, the 
learner begins, in many cases, 
with words, as the signs of 
things and ideas. These 
cause the production in the 
mind of pictures, images, 
ideas (concepts), of what- 
ever the words signify. This 
state of mind is naturally 
followed by effort to express 
and describe properly these 
images and ideas (concepts). 



Special Laws of Teaching. 

First Law. (a) In teaching 
young children the teacher 
should begin with the con- 
crete, — that is, with objects, 
acts, and qualities ; should 
excite curiosity and help the 
production of ideas; should 
then teach words, as signs, to 
name and describe the ob- 
jects and ideas. 

(b) At a little later period, 
when words and the things 
which they 'signify have be- 
come thoroughly associated, 
the teacher should begin, in 
many cases, with words, and 
through these secure the for- 
mation of correct mental 
pictures, images, or ideas 
(concepts), of whatever the 
words signify; and should 
then guide and aid the pupil 
in the proper expression or 
description of these images 
and ideas (concepts). 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 59 

To this period such maxims as the following apply : 
" From the concrete to the abstract ; " " Things before 
words," — the second maxim should be amended to 
read, "Things and words;" "Sense knowledge before 
thought knowledge ; " and others of similar character. 

The Concrete of the Child. — To this period object- 
teaching and objective teaching belong, although the 
teaching even at this time should not be addressed 
exclusively to the senses. " The child's world is not a 
world of abstractions, but one of concrete objects. 
Even the idea of succession in time, of growth and 
development, comes to the child only in its most 
tangible and concrete form, by the changes which he 
observes to come over the objects he is interested in, 
changes which he often produces himself with his own 
hands. It is true the growth of his faculties is a 
continuous one, and the germs of all faculties develop 
simultaneously; but they do not all develop at the same 
rate, and at different periods of the child's mental 
evolution the mental powers that occupy the fore- 
ground are not always the same. It is true that very 
early in life traces can be found of imagination and of 
reasoning processes, side by side with the operation of 
perception. ,, Teaching must take account of this fact 
and must, while largely and mainly addressed to the 
perceptive powers, make provision for the proper 
exercise of the slowly developing representative and 
thinking activities. 

It should be remembered, however, that the concrete 
of the child does not consist of the few objects brought 
before him for the somewhat formal lessons of the 
school-room. His concrete is his whole environment; 
not alone the objects in the school-room, not the school 



160 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

itself with all its complexity, not the teacher and his 
fellow-pupils, but everything that touches his senses or 
appeals to his sensibilities. From this environment 
come, first of all, his sensations; from these his per- 
cepts; from these, by suggestion though the native 
impulse of curiosity, come all his early ideas and his 
early thinking. 

It is evident enough that the material of instruction 
for the first years of school life should be selected from 
the child's immediate surroundings. It does not matter 
much what name is given to this material. It may be 
called " elementary science " or whatever one prefers, 
provided only the thing itself is secured. Such selec- 
tion of material enables the school and the teacher to 
meet the child on familiar ground. He is prepared to 
apperceive or assimilate the subject-matter presented 
to him. The school is not a new and unknown world, 
but rather a continuation of the world in which he has 
been living. 

Lange. — " In and about the home the child has acquired 
all the ideas he brings to school ; here dwell the objects of 
his perceptions ; here are found the beginnings of his notions 
and feelings. It is therefore self-evident that the instruction 
which is to elaborate and supplement this material should 
start with the same sphere of experiences, or, in other words, 
deal with the surroundings of the child. Because we know 
that the child on entering school has fully mastered only a 
limited part of his surroundings, and that many of his home 
observations need clearing up and sifting, we lead him back 
into the old familiar world, in which he has heretofore lived, 
and which is clear to him. We teach him to know it better 
and to make him more familiar with it, — we develop a knowl- 
edge of the home environment. 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. l6l 

" The home comprises more than the piece of earth where 
we were born and brought up ; it includes also the products of 
the soil, the plant and animal life, the inhabitants with their 
occupations and customs ; so through careful observation of 
home objects and incidents, our instruction is to secure vivid 
sense-perceptions for more than one realm of knowledge. 
Geography, history, and natural science owe to it the most 
important elementary ideas ; and similarly geometry, arith- 
metic, instruction in the mother-tongue and in drawing, relate 
to numerous inner and outer experiences of the child as they 
come to him in his intercourse with things and people at 
home. These home-observation lessons, furthermore, should 
deal only with such things as belong to the personal ex- 
periences of the child, which he can really observe with his 
own eyes and ears; whatever things lie beyond the horizon 
of home, — if ever so interesting, — as, for instance, strange 
animals and plants, as long as they cannot be observed at 
home or explained through visible home-objects, are absolutely 
to be excluded." 

To these object-lessons as centres, supplying the 
material and substance of thought, instruction in the 
so-called form studies, such as reading, writing, drawing, 
and language, may to a considerable extent be limited. 
The universal law of progress in the proper develop- 
ment of childhood and in the acquisition of mental 
power is, first, thought, then expression. Expression 
may take various forms. Facility and accuracy in the 
use of these forms can be acquired only by practice. 
Hence comes the absolute necessity of considerable 
special drill or training in such studies as reading, writ- 
ing, and drawing, in the primary grades. Such training 
can be secured, however, without the wearisome repeti- 
tion of mere unmeaning sounds and forms. 



1 62 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

These object or science lessons are especially valu- 
able for developing and training the activity of the senses, 
and for creating the habit of observing. No power of 
the mind is developed and trained except by fitting 
exercise. In order to secure such exercise, means and 
opportunities must be supplied. The senses can be 
trained only by giving them something to do. The eye 
learns to see by seeing; the ear by hearing; and the 
other senses become skilful in their peculiar work by 
doing it. The same law holds true in all manual train- 
ing. But proper instruction and direction are necessary 
in all cases. Both the senses and the hands need to be 
guided. It is the teacher's business to give the proper 
instruction, direction, and guidance. So much being 
granted, the maxim of Comenius is true: " Let things 
that have to be done be learned by doing them!' 

Bad Object-Lessons. — Object-lessons may be so con- 
ducted as to be worse than useless. This is the case 
when children are required to learn and repeat, in a 
mechanical way, long lists of names of parts, qualities, 
characteristics, and uses of objects, all oi which they 
know before entering school. So far from cultivating 
and quickening the activity of the senses, this method 
of teaching really tends to produce " artificial stupid- 
ity; " the senses are dulled by it. 

Children must use their own Senses. — Children must 
be allowed to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch for 
themselves, and not be taught simply to repeat what 
the teacher sees and hears. But they should be so 
directed that they will learn to observe with order, reg- 
ularity, accuracy, and filially with rapidity. Beginning 
with objects of which the children have some general 
but indefinite knowledge, the genuine teacher will 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 163 

lead her pupils to discover for themselves parts, quali- 
ties, characteristics, and other peculiarities which have 
hitherto entirely escaped their hasty and careless notice. 
An old object is thus transformed into a new one, and 
invested with a species of enchantment. The common- 
place world, in which the children have been living, is 
suddenly changed into a world of wonders, marvels, 
and charms at the skilful touch of an inspiring teacher. 
The value of this work does not consist in the little 
knowledge gained by the pupils, but in the acquired 
power of perceiving, and in the acquired habit of accurate 
and rapid observation. 

Final Result. — The final result is that the child comes 
to observe almost or quite unconsciously; he sees and 
hears without effort, and thus acquires a vast amount 
of useful and interesting knowledge with no expenditure 
of time or labor, and with positive and constantly in- 
creasing pleasure. This is the development and train- 
ing of the perceptive powers; the opening of the 
gate-ways of the soul; the bringing of the mind and 
of the material of knowledge face to face, which con- 
stitutes, as previously stated, real teaching. This is 
Mr. Page's " waking up the mind." 

Some Questions on Observation. — How many young 
people, even teachers, who have lived all their lives in 
the country, surrounded with trees, fruits, and flowers, 
can draw or describe the forms of the leaves of the 
different kinds of trees; can tell the names of the 
common flowers by the roadside ; or how many petals 
the apple or pear blossom has; or what the uses of 
the corn tassels are ; or how new varieties of potatoes 
are produced? 

Examples of Concrete Lessons. — Concrete teaching may 



1 64 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

be extended with great profit and interest far beyond 
the use of simple objects in giving first lessons in num- 
bers. Children are fond of concrete examples in 
arithmetic. A class may be set to measuring the floor 
of the school-room and to determining the number of 
square feet in it ; the same may be done in respect to 
the sides and ceiling of the room. The number of 
cubic feet contained in the room may be calculated, 
and the number of cubic feet for each scholar. These 
and similar problems have an interest for pupils which 
mere abstract questions do not possess. 

More Examples. — At different seasons of the year 
questions relating to familiar matters may be suggested. 
For example, pupils a little advanced in arithmetic may 
be asked to determine the number of stalks of wheat on 
an acre of ground, being instructed to count the stalks 
on a few square feet in different parts of the field so as 
to ascertain the average number on one square foot. 
In the same way the number of hills of corn on an acre 
may be calculated, or the number of forest trees on a 
certain number of acres. Such examples may be mul- 
tiplied almost indefinitely in a farming district. In a 
lumber region a different class of examples would nat- 
urally be devised, and in a mining section still a different 
sort, and so on, the particular examples being varied 
according to conditions and surroundings. 

Spelling-Lessons. — Lessons in spelling may frequently 
be made from objects, by taking the name of an object, 
the names of the parts, words denoting the uses of the 
object, and other words suggested by the object or 
associated with it. Such lessons may be made lessons 
in language as well as in spelling. 

Second Part of these Laws. — The second part of these 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 65 

laws refers to the work of the secondary stage of learn- 
ing and teaching. However, it must always be kept in 
mind that the transition of the child from one period to 
the next is very gradual. Consequently the method 
of teaching must be changed very gradually. Little 
by little the object and objective methods must give 
place to methods which address the conceptive or rep- 
resentative powers more directly. Pupils are now pre- 
pared to use books ; and the order of progress is : 
(1) words, (2) ideas, and (3) expression; while in the 
first period the order was : (1) objects, (2) ideas, and 
(3) words. 

The Order in Reading, — The order is illustrated by the 
lessons in reading after the children begin the use of the 
reading-book. The printed words, as the pupils look 
upon the page, cause the production in the mind of 
images, pictures, ideas, representations of the objects, 
acts, persons, and so on, of which the words are signs 
or symbols. These mental ideas, images, and pictures 
are expressed or described in the vocal reading by the 
1 tones, inflections, and emphasis employed by the 
readers. The character of the reading will show 
whether the representations in the mind are correct and 
distinct. A book cannot be used with advantage until 
stich representations can be readily and accurately 
formed. 

Order in Language-Lessons. — This order is also ob- 
served in language-lessons when the teacher reads or 
relates some story and requires members of the class to 
reproduce the substance of it, in their own language, 
either orally or by writing. In this case the teacher's 
spoken words cause the formation of mental repre- 
sentations or concepts, which are expressed or de- 



1 66 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

scribed by the pupils in words or signs of their own 
selection. 

Different Modes of Expression. —As already stated, ex- 
pression may take various forms. It may be by spoken 
words, by written words, by marks or signs of various 
kinds, as in arithmetic and algebra, by drawing and 
painting, or by expressive gestures and movements. 
The form of expression is determined by the nature of 
the idea, by the purpose in view, and by the degree of 
development and training of the pupil. 

Representation begins early. — This process of mental 
representation begins at a very early period of the child's 
development, and the power to form correct and clear 
ideas, when words or other signs are used, should be cul- 
tivated as carefully and diligently as the perceptive powers 
when objects are employed. It is possible to use the 
object and objective methods of instruction too long. 
The child in that case becomes accustomed to depend 
too much upon perception for his mental notions. The 
power to form mental pictures from words is not 
called into activity, and consequently is not developed. 
The result is that memory, conception, and imagination 
are retarded in their growth, and sometimes permanent 
injury is inflicted upon the mind. Care should be taken 
also in all lessons, at this time as well as in later periods, 
that new matter of instruction, new ideas, become assimi- 
lated and united as far as possible, with previously 
acquired ideas, so that the child's knowledge shall form 
a properly related whole. Such assimilation or apper- 
ception will, of necessity, be less complete in the mind 
of the young child than in a mind more fully developed, 
but it should be made as complete as the degree of 
evolution will permit. 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 



\6y 



Second Law of Mind. 

(a) The young child pro- 
ceeds in its early learning, for 
the most part, inductively; 
that is, from individuals to 
classes, and from particular 
cases and examples to general 
probable truths and principles. 

(b) A little later the learner 
proceeds, in many cases, de- 
ductively ; that is, from classes 
to individuals, and from gen- 
eral truths and principles to 
particular cases and examples. 



Second Law of Teaching. 

(a) The teacher of young 
children should proceed for 
the most past inductively; 
that is, from individuals to 
classes, and from particular 
cases and examples to general 
truths and principles. 

(b) As pupils advance, the 
teacher should, in many cases, 
proceed deductively ; that is, 
from classes to individuals, 
and from general truths and 
principles to particular cases 
and examples. 



For the purpose of emphasizing certain points of 
special importance a third law is added, although it is 
virtually included in the second, and will be discussed 
in connection with that law. 



Third Law of Mind. 

{a) The young child natu- 
rally seeks to learn facts, 
events, processes, examples, 
and so on, before he is in- 
terested in studying causes, 
reasons, consequences, rules, 
definitions, and principles ; and 
he learns language before the 
laws of language, that is, be- 
fore grammar. 

(b) After the thinking and 
reasoning powers have be- 



Third Law of Teaching. 

(a) The teacher should pre- 
sent facts, events, processes, 
examples, and so on, to young 
children before requiring them 
to study causes, reasons, con- 
sequences, rules, definitions, 
and principles ; and should 
teach language before the laws 
of language, that is, before 
grammar. 

(b) In giving instruction 
to advanced scholars the 



168 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

come considerably developed, teacher may often begin with 
the student naturally seeks to statements of rules, definitions, 
commence the study of many principles, and hypotheses, and 
subjects with statements of then proceed to investigate, 
rules, definitions, principles, explain, and illustrate the 
and hypotheses, and then various applications of these, 
goes on to investigate and and the inferences and de- 
discover the applications of ductions from them. He 
these. He also commences should also commence in- 
the study of new languages by struction in new languages 
applying, as far as possible, by applying, as far as possi- 
the laws and principles of ble, the laws and principles 
languages already learned, that of languages which the pupil 
is, with grammar. knows, that is, with grammar. 

Individual Notions. — The early notions of the child 
are all of individuals, individual objects, individual acts, 
individual qualities and characteristics, individual pro- 
cesses and relations. He has no ideas of classes of 
objects or of general truths and laws. The senses 
through which the beginnings of all his knowledge are 
obtained, can make him acquainted only with individual 
things. The child sees this particular cat, hears the 
voice of this particular woman, smells the odor of this 
single rose, and tastes the flavor of this particular peach. 
But of cats as a class, or of women in general, or of 
roses as a family, or of peaches as a variety of fruit, he 
has no conception. It is true he uses general terms, such 
as boy, dog, horse, book, flower, but, for considerable 
time, he employs these only as names of individuals. 

Notions of individual objects and acts can be men- 
tally imaged or pictured, but ideas of classes and of 
general laws are pure psychical creations, which are 
often exceedingly obscure and ill-defined in the minds 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 169 

of adults. Though in many cases occasioned by 
sense-perception, they have no basis in sensation, out 
of which all early mental life springs. 

Many of the percepts of the child are very complex, 
involving the combined activity of several of the senses. 
For example, the percept of an orange involves the 
activity of sight, touch, smell, and taste ; but this com- 
plexity does not trouble or perplex the child, since he 
grasps, at first, only the notion of the intermingled 
whole ; or if he considers by itself, as doubtless he fre- 
quently does, the partial percept given him by some 
single sense, he has yet no disposition to inquire as to 
the union of partial percepts to form the complete and 
perfect notion of an object. 

This characteristic of child nature, in the early stage 
of development, to form only individual notions is not 
confined, as we sometimes suppose, to ideas of real 
objects. It extends to acts, processes, relations, indeed 
as far as the child's mental activity extends. A child 
directed to perform a certain act at this time and in 
this place, performs it, but understands the command to 
apply only to this particular act at this specific time 
and in this particular place. The prohibition of some 
particular act is subject to the same limitation in the 
child's mind. The prohibition appears to him to have 
reference only to this immediate time and this specific 
place. Through ignorance of this peculiarity of the 
undeveloped mind, parents and teachers frequently mis- 
interpret the conduct of children in neglecting required 
acts and in performing forbidden ones, attributing to 
heedlessness or perversity that which comes from the 
natural and spontaneous activity of the mind at this 
stage of evolution. A little later, perversity may be 



I JO A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

responsible for the child's conduct, but not in the 
earliest period. 

Without doubt the notion of relation is, at first, 
limited in the same way. This part of this particular 
object may be half the size of this whole object, but 
that the same relation extends to similar parts of all 
objects is not immediately comprehended. 

Ideas of general laws, like the law of the regular and 

constant increase in the value of figures from right to 

left, or the law of gravitation, must be more difficult 

and slower of formation, since they are more intangible 

' and abstract in their nature. 

First Step in Education. — The first step in the educa- 
tion of the child consists in the development of the 
psychical power to form clear and accurate notions of 
individual objects, acts, facts, processes, character, and 
conduct. 

Formation of General Notions. — The period during 
which the child is exclusively occupied in the formation 
of individual notions is very brief. While the mind, of 
necessity, begins with such ideas, it passes by a spon- 
taneous impulse, and without instruction, from notions 
of individuals to notions of classes, and from specific 
cases and examples to general truths and laws. For 
considerable time, however, after entering school, every 
new subject must be approached by beginning with 
individual and specific notions and proceeding grad- 
ually, but often with a good degree of rapidity, to its 
more general aspects. 

First Ideas of Classes. — The child's earliest notions 
of classes are probably reached by a process of hardly 
conscious elimination ; that is, by putting aside or out 
of view, one by one, characteristics which are discovered 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. IJl 

to belong only to single individuals, and by retaining 
and combining the characteristics which are found to 
be common to a considerable number of individuals. 
For illustration, suppose a child sees an apple for the 
first time, and that this particular apple is red. The 
word "apple " now means to the child only this one red 
apple. Suppose to-morrow a yellow apple is brought 
to the child, and afterwards a green apple, and then 
others of variegated colors. Gradually the notion of 
any particular color is eliminated from the idea ex- 
pressed by the general term "apple." By a similar pro- 
cess the notion of any particular size, or of any specific 
taste will be removed, and only a few characteristics will 
remain included in the idea or general notion of apple. 

Induction. — The process by which the mind reaches 
the notions of classes, of general rules, laws, and truths 
by the examination of a considerable number of indi- 
vidual things, examples, or cases, is called induction. 

The formation of general notions involves much more 
than simple perception; it requires comparison, which 
involves the activity of judgment, and reflection, which 
is, in its nature, continuous thinking. General notions 
are embodied and expressed in the form of definitions, 
laws, or rules. 

Examples of Induction. — The process by which a 
child reaches a general truth may be easily illustrated 
by reference to some of the things with which children 
are supposed to be well acquainted. 

Ask a child how many petals an apple blossom has; 
he will examine a few blossoms, plucked from half a 
dozen different trees, and answer without hesitation, 
" Five." Inquire how many seed-cells the apple has, and 
he will arrive at his conclusion by the same method. 



172 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

In all such cases, children reason correctly, although 
the process is probably almost unconscious. In school 
they will frequently need to be guarded against the 
danger of drawing conclusions too hastily and from an 
examination of an insufficient number of individuals. 

In the study of language a number of selections may 
be written and a rule for the construction of all similar 
sentences may be inferred from these. Illustrations of 
this natural inductive process may be readily selected 
from all the various branches of study. 

Road from the Particular to the General. — So long as 
the mind deals only with notions of individuals it is 
filled with separate and unrelated elements and material 
of knowledge. There can be no orderly arrangement 
of the mind's acquisitions, no classification and assimila- 
tion. Classification presupposes a basis upon which 
classes are built up, a pattern or ideal with which things 
can be compared, a law to which individuals must con- 
form. Such bases, patterns, and laws are always gene- 
ral notions. It will be observed that induction is the 
road along which the mind passes in going from the 
individual to the general notion and consequently is 
the necessary preliminary and introductory process in 
the acquisition of knowledge. It is the process or 
method of investigation and discovery, not the method 
by which knowledge is put into permanent form and 
united into a properly related whole. 

Deduction. — The mind, having reached by induction 
notions of classes and of general laws, spontaneously 
changes the direction of its movement and proceeds to 
apply these laws to new individual cases, and to make 
its concepts of classes centres around which to group a 
multitude of new individual objects ; in other words, it 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 173 

proceeds, by a necessity of its nature, to apperceive, to 
assimilate and classify every new acquisition. This 
process of applying general rules, definitions, and prin- 
ciples to particular objects and cases is called deduction. 

Induction and Deduction Complements each of the other. — 
Both induction and deduction are constantly employed 
in the processes of learning and teaching. They are 
the natural complements of each other. Neither can 
be employed exclusively in any grade of school work 
for any length of time. No method of teaching is 
exclusively and purely inductive or deductive. Fre- 
quently both are used in the same lesson, induction 
being first employed to reach some general rule or 
law, and then deduction in applying this rule or law to 
new cases and examples. 

Illustrations. — For illustration, as soon as a pupil has 
become thoroughly acquainted with the processes of 
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, he 
has only to apply this knowledge to the solution of any 
new problem given to him. The inductive processes 
are no longer necessary. The same is true in the study 
of language, and indeed in all studies. 

The deductive method is especially employed in all 
branches where the work is largely classification, as in 
botany and zoology. The characteristics of great fami- 
lies or classes are first learned, and these characteristics 
are then used in determining what individual plants, 
flowers, or animals are, and where they belong in the 
vegetable or animal kingdom. 

The Third Law. — The third law is given for the pur- 
pose of emphasizing some points really involved, as 
previously stated, in the second. This law implies that 
considerable raw material of knowledge may very prop- 



174 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

erly be accumulated .by the young child which is only 
partially understood at the time of reception, and which 
cannot be thoroughly assimilated and classified at that 
period. 

It is hastily assumed by some that sound pedagogy 
forbids the teacher to encourage this process of accumu- 
lation. It is readily conceded that it may be carried to 
a harmful extent, and may result in the cultivation of a 
verbal memory overloaded with isolated and discon- 
nected facts. Such an accumulation of unrelated matter 
hinders mental digestion, and tends to the production 
of mental dyspepsia. This was a prominent fault of 
the so-called old education. 

But memory, even in its least scientific form, has its 
own place and its own legitimate function, and its value 
should not be underestimated. A power of the mind 
should not be ignored because it has been abused. 

Early Processes Imperfect. — The truth must be recog- 
nized that the processes of assimilation and classification 
as performed by the young child are, of necessity, crude 
and imperfect. He must classify by principles and 
relations which he can understand, and not by the more 
profound principles and the less obvious but more 
essential relations which only the mature mind can 
comprehend. The assimilation should be as perfect 
as his stage of development will enable him to make, 
but at this period it is unwise to attempt to teach chil- 
dren reasons, explanations, and principles which can 
have no real meaning to them, and to require them to 
repeat formulas in arithmetic and rules in grammar 
which are merely words without content. The energy 
of the child should be employed in doing that which he 
can do with the most satisfaction and with the greatest 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 75 

advantage. It will be borne in mind that, at every 
stage, of development, the acquisition of power, with 
the skill to use this power, is of more importance than 
the acquisition of what is by courtesy called knowledge. 

Work in some Studies. — During this elementary period 
the pupil, having reached by induction many probable 
truths, having become familiar with processes and 
methods of working in arithmetic, enjoys " doing " 
examples of various kinds, although he may not now 
comprehend the principles out of which he will dis- 
cover, at a later period, that important general laws 
may be drawn. 

He will accumulate many " facts " concerning com- 
mon things, natural objects, elementary science, animals, 
plants, flowers, and fruits, the full meanings and relations 
of which can be comprehended only when the thinking 
activities have become more completely developed. 

The beginnings of the study of biography and history 
will be profitably made by hearing, reading, and repro- 
ducing stories and anecdotes which have, in his mind, 
no essential connection one with another, and which 
are taught and learned simply because they are "inter- 
esting" at this stage of the child's psychical evolution. 
Nevertheless they constitute valuable material for use 
at a later period, and are readily retained by the mem- 
ory, although very imperfectly assimilated into any 
compacted body of knowledge. 

Moral instruction will proceed in a similar way by 
the use of unrelated but wisely selected fairy tales, 
fables, and stories of real life; which indeed teach 
lessons of character and conduct, but which the child 
listens to, learns, and enjoys chiefly because they gratify 
his native curiosity, and appeal strongly to the develop- 



176 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

ing power of imagination and fancy. This material 
means something to the child now, much in truth if 
presented by a sympathetic and skilful teacher ac- 
quainted with the inner springs of the mental and moral 
life of childhood ; but its full richness of meaning will be 
comprehended only in later stages of psychical prog- 
ress. Complete assimilation cannot yet take place, but 
will follow in due season. 

In connection with all other studies and exercises 
instruction in language should, during this period, be 
constantly and carefully given without reference to 
formal grammatical laws. The pupil, however, will, 
of necessity, formulate for himself some simple laws of 
language as a result of the natural process of induction ; 
and it would be worse than folly to refuse to help the 
child to profit by the almost instinctive movements of 
his own mind, even though these bring us into conflict 
with some favorite educational theories and maxims. 

Imitation. — At this stage of development the imita- 
tive impulse is peculiarly active in all directions. The 
child's words and forms of expression are determined 
mainly by the language which he hears in the home 
and at the school. The tenacity with which forms of 
expression learned in early childhood cling to the lips 
and fasten themselves in the memory, in spite of the 
influence of later instruction and practice, renders it of 
the highest importance that the primary teacher give 
the child the best possible assistance towards the for- 
mation of correct habits of speech. Next to the 
training of the senses and of the growing power of 
assimilation, this is the peculiar work of the elementary 
school. In the preceding chapter some suggestions 
were made in respect to the application of the general 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 77 

laws of mind to the teaching of lessons in language. A 
few suggestions in relation to the very earliest instruc- 
tion in language are added here. 

Suggestions. — (1) First of all, the teacher's language 
should be good, grammatically correct, and worthy of 
imitation. This is of vital importance. The teacher's 
conversations with the children, her remarks to classes 
and to the school, are so many continuous lessons in lan- 
guage ; they are more effective than all other lessons. 

(2) Next to this in importance is the correction of any 
bad habits of speech which the children may have already 
acquired. This should be done in such a way as not to 
wound their sensibilities, or to give the impression that 
the teacher takes pleasure in criticising them. 

(3) In recitations and all formal school exercises be 
sure that a child has clear and distinct ideas before he 
tries to express them. The expression of an idea or 
thought can never, unless by some mere chance, be 
clearer and more distinct than the idea or thought as 
represented in the mind. Confusion of language neces- 
sarily follows confusion of thought. An object seen 
indistinctly can be described only vaguely. A child 
should not be allowed to describe an object of percep- 
tion until he has observed it so fully and carefully that 
he knows exactly what he wishes and intends to say. 
The same requirement should be made when questions 
are put which call for the mental act of representation. 
This requirement will interfere a little at first with the 
liveliness of a recitation or other exercises, but in the 
end progress will be more rapid. 

Imperfect Representation and its Causes. — During the 
early period of the representative stage of a child's 
school life there is great danger of confusion of ideas 



178 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

in his mind, and of consequent incorrectness in the use 
of words. A story is told, or a narrative is read, and 
the pupil is required to reproduce the story or the nar- 
rative in his own language. Failure in the reproduction 
may result from the fact that the language used in tell- 
ing the story is not understood by the child. In this 
case the pupil can form no mental pictures, because the 
words suggest nothing. Consequently he has nothing 
to reproduce. 

Failure to reproduce may have another cause. The 
pupil may understand the language employed and may 
form correct ideas, but his vocabulary, aside from the 
words used by the teacher in telling the story, may be 
so limited that he is unable to express these ideas cor- 
rectly in other words of his own selection. 

(4) Consequently at this stage of school life a teacher 
should take great care that right words be taught to 
children as they are needed by them. Every new object 
or idea calls for a new word. The word will be easily 
remembered if it is taught in connection with that of 
which it is the sign; the natural order is " things and 
words." 

Words to be Taught. — The words taught to young 
children should be short, plain, every-day words, readily 
understood and easy of utterance. Train scholars to 
use just enough words to express their ideas clearly and 
fully, but no more than are needed to do this. In this 
matter the teacher should afford an example worthy of 
imitation. Do not fall into the habit of " talking much 
and saying little." 

Technical Terms. — The general rule as to the selection 
of short, simple, every-day words for the use of children, 
should not be pressed to an unreasonable extreme. It 



LAWS OF MIND AND OF TEACHING. 1 79 

is not necessary, nor is it desirable, to avoid the use of 
technical terms in early instruction. Such terms should 
not be employed unnecessarily, or too freely, but there 
is no sufficient reason for excluding them entirely. 
Oral and all early teaching should prepare pupils to use 
text-books. Some previous knowledge of books will 
help the pupil greatly when he commences to use them. 

(5) Finally, give young children much practice in the 
use of correct forms of expression. 

The End to be Reached. — The end desired is the for- 
mation of a habit of employing good language. Habit 
is formed only by long-continued practice. Sentences 
properly arranged must be spoken over and over again, 
must be written repeatedly, until the sounds and forms 
become so familiar that the tongue utters them and the 
fingers write them almost automatically. Training in 
this matter should begin in the lowest classes and should 
be continued systematically through all the primary 
grades. 

FOR READING. 

Compayre's Lectures on Teaching, Part I., chapter iv. 

Bain's Education as a Science, chapter vi., first part of 
chapter vii., and on the Object- Lesson. 

Rooper's Pot of Green Feathers. 

McMurry's General Method, chapter vi. 

Lange's Apperception, section 3 of Part I., and section 2 of 
Part II. 

De Garmo's Essentials of Method, Part I. 

Fitch's Lectures on Teaching, lectures vii. and xiv. 

Laurie's Institutes of Education, lecture vii. 

Wiltsie's Place of the Story in Early Education. 

Arnold's Waymarks for Teachers; topic, Examples of 
Lessons. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE RECITATION, OR THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 

The Teacher's Real Work. — • The organization and 
government of a school are necessary and important 
parts of the teacher's duties. These require much of 
sound judgment, of wise discretion, of ready tact, and 
frequently of patience and self-control. But primarily 
and chiefly the teacher is an instructor, using the term in 
a very broad sense ; his special and most effective work 
is performed in connection with the class ; his previous 
preparation, his study of subjects and methods, his ob- 
servation and practice, have all had reference mainly 
to this. 

Face to Face. — Here as nowhere else the teacher and 
the learner meet face to face ; mind comes into direct 
contact with mind, heart with heart, disposition with 
disposition. Whatever of ability, power, and skill the 
teacher possesses finds here an open field and ample 
room for most vigorous exercise. If the personality of 
the teacher is marked and positive, it counts for more 
than any number of mechanical devices or than elabo- 
rately contrived machinery. 

Things to be Considered. — It is not easy to describe 
briefly and adequately the nature of class-work, or to 
give minute and detailed directions for its performance. 
Such minute directions, indeed, are often productive of 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. l8l 

more harm than benefit: they tend to embarrass the 
teacher, to restrain freedom of action, and to destroy 
all true spontaneity and individuality; they become 
fetters and clogs, impeding and hindering, rather than 
aiding and assisting. If the best results are to be se- 
cured, sufficient room must be left for the proper play 
of the individuality and personality of the teacher. 

Regard must also be had to the circumstances in 
which the teacher is placed, to the conditions under 
which he is acting, to the grade or class in which the 
work is to be done, to the previous training of pupils, to 
the habits of mental action which they have acquired, 
and to the means and appliances of instruction and 
illustration at hand. Schools, classes, and pupils have 
their peculiarities, as well as teachers, and these must 
be taken into account in determining methods of pro- 
cedure in many cases. 

The Best Thing. — Keeping in mind these and other 
limiting conditions, it is obvious that the best which 
can be done for teachers generally, in regard to class- 
work, is to call attention to some principles of universal 
application, and to make some suggestions in rela- 
tion to what may be called the mechanism of class- 
management. 

Purposes of Class-Work. — Before considering how a 
task may be performed to the best advantage of all con- 
cerned, it is of prime importance to have a definite and 
adequate notion of what is to be done. Much time is 
lost and much energy is wasted for lack of this. 

It is customary to apply the term " recitation " to 
the work of the class-period. The word is unfortunate, 
but it has come down to us from the times when the 
class-exercises consisted almost exclusively of the repe- 



182 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

tition by the pupils, in the language of the book, of 
what they had memorized. Children were required and 
expected to " say the lesson." They recited, and that 
was all. Gradually the practice has been undergoing 
modifications. The word also, though retaining its old 
form, has enlarged its content, and embraces now ideas 
of teaching and instruction as well as those of memo- 
rizing and repetition. For the sake of brevity, it may 
still be used without risk of misunderstanding. 

Two Leading Purposes. — The main purposes of the 
recitation are reducible to two, — instruction and test- 
ing on the part of the teacher, learning and reciting on 
the part of the pupil. The processes of instructing, 
learning, testing, and reciting, in many cases, go on 
together; in some cases they may be, to a considerable 
extent, separated. 

In Primary Grades. — In the lowest primary grades, 
the recitation period is occupied by the teacher mainly 
in giving instruction, and by pupils in learning. The 
teacher is aiding the class in getting knowledge, direct- 
ing and guiding in investigation and research. Testing 
is a secondary matter, and occupies but little time ; it 
is necessarily included in the processes of instruction. 

In Higher Grades. — In the higher grades it is prac- 
ticable to separate the processes of teaching and testing 
to a considerable extent, though never completely below 
the high school. The recitation of a pupil reveals the 
imperfection of his knowledge ; instruction is most val- 
uable and effective at this time and place. No theory 
concerning the separation of processes, or plans for esti- 
mating the value of a pupil's work, should be allowed to 
prevent the teacher from doing what the best interests 
of the scholar demand. These remarks are intended to 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 1 83 

apply to the usual recitation, and not to special exer- 
cises when testing is the sole object. 

In Advanced Classes. — In the high school and in 
higher institutions, the processes of instruction and ex- 
amination may become almost completely separated. 
Some recitation periods are occupied entirely with in- 
struction and learning; others, with testing and reciting. 
Methods of testing are not considered at this point, but 
they must be varied according to the degree of advance- 
ment of classes and the nature of studies. 

Testing by " Drill." — Drill, so-called, serves two im- 
portant purposes, — it affords a test of the ability of 
the pupil to apply principles and rules, and it also aids 
in the acquisition of facility and skill, both mental and 
manual, in the performances of processes. Drill loses 
much of its value when it consists simply in " working," 
in the class, examples in arithmetic previously wrought, 
or in the analysis of sentences previously analyzed, or in 
the mere repetition of any processes previously per- 
formed. The training or drill should be upon new prob- 
lems, or upon new sentences which require the appli- 
cation of principles or rules supposed to have been 
mastered by the solution of problems given in the text- 
book. In this case there is a testing of acquired power, 
and of practical skill in the use of what has been 
learned. Particular devices for securing the best results 
from class-training should be varied according to condi- 
tions, the nature of subjects, and the means at hand. 

Some Conditions of Successful Class-work. — The most 
essential conditions of successful recitation-work may 
be summed up very briefly. They are partly funda- 
mental, the same always and everywhere, involved in 
the very nature of the work; and partly mechanical, 



1 84 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

varying with times, places, and circumstances, not in- 
volving any general principles of mind or conduct. 

(i) A Definite Purpose. — Every lesson has, or should 
have, some definite purpose in the mind of the teacher. 
One lesson may be merely preparatory to others which 
are to follow. It involves some principles, laws, or 
facts, upon the right understanding of which, the ease or 
difficulty of the pupil's progress very largely depends. 
Not knowing the relation of these things to succeeding 
lessons, the student cannot appreciate their importance. 
It will be the purpose to fix such principles and facts 
so thoroughly in the minds of the class that they cannot 
be forgotten. 

Another lesson may consist in reality, though not in 
specific form, of a summing up of results, of conclu- 
sions or inferences, from several previous lessons. The 
purpose will be to fasten these conclusions, and to 
make clear that they are legitimate inferences from what 
has gone before. 

Illustrations might easily be multiplied, but it will be 
sufficient to say that no lesson can be well taught, even 
in the very lowest grades, unless there is in the mind 
of the teacher a specific end to be attained, — an end 
toward which every movement is directed. All ex- 
amples, explanations, and illustrations, are selected and 
employed with reference to this purpose. 

(2) Careful and Fresh Preparation. — It is presup- 
posed that every teacher has, before commencing his 
work, made a general preparation in all the branches 
which he expects to teach. No person can give good 
instruction in a subject by studying it, for the first time, 
from day to day, so as merely to keep a little in advance 
of his class. In this case, the teacher has no knowledge 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 1 85 

of the relation of one part of the subject, or of one 
topic, to another, and consequently cannot wisely direct 
the work of pupils. Unimportant matters may be em- 
phasized, and important ones may be passed over, with 
little attention. It is not this general preparation to 
which reference is here made, but specific and special 
preparation of each daily lesson. The subject to be 
presented must be brought fresh into mind, even though 
it may have been taught scores of times. No one can 
teach the same topics over and over in precisely the 
same way, term after term and year after year, and pre- 
serve either his own interest or the interest of his pupils. 
The subject, though old, must be made new by fresh 
illustrations, by new examples and explanations, by 
varied forms of presentation and treatment. This can 
be secured only by preparation made freshly for this 
time and this class. The capacities, tastes, habits, and 
needs of different classes are very different, and the 
immediate preparation should have reference to the 
present class and to existing conditions. 

(3) Assignment of Lessons. — The assignment of 
subsequent lessons is frequently an important part of 
the work of the recitation-hour. Definite rules cannot 
be given for this, since much will depend upon the 
nature of the study, and much upon the character of the 
class. In many cases the assignment of the lesson is an 
essential part of the instruction, and considerable time 
may profitably be occupied in doing it. The vital points 
in the subject are indicated, the direction of investiga- 
tion is pointed out, references for reading are named, 
and sometimes, but not always, the end to be attained is 
stated. The lesson cannot be wisely assigned until the 
fresh preparation has been made by the teacher. No 



1 86 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

more work should be assigned than pupils may reason- 
ably be expected to prepare within the time at their com- 
mand. The practice of " giving lessons over again " is 
a sure way of creating the habit of making imperfect 
preparation on the part of some members of a class. 

Attention on the Part of the Class. — On account of 
its great importance, the general subject of attention 
receives special consideration in another place. Conse- 
quently the laws governing attention, and the means 
of securing and retaining it, will not be discussed at 
length here. It is sufficient to say that good instruc- 
tion, combined with genuine enthusiasm in the teacher, 
will usually command a good degree of attention from 
the pupils. 

Proper mechanical arrangements and devices in rela- 
tion to coming to and going from' recitation, in relation 
to seating, to positions in sitting and standing, in rela- 
tion to the place which the teacher occupies so that all 
members of the class shall be under his immediate 
observation, will be of temporary service ; but all these 
have little permanent value unless they are determined 
by some law of mind and meet some demand of human 
nature. 

In all class movements and exercises, as well as in 
all other movements of the school, the aim should be to 
secure two things, — promptness and quietness. A 
certain amount of machinery is necessary in school 
and class management, especially in large schools and 
large classes; but the less this appears to the eye, and 
the less of noise and clatter of wheels and pulleys is 
heard, the greater is the evidence of real power and 
efficiency on the part of the teacher. As little time as 
possible should be spent in constructing and working 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 187 

elaborate systems of mechanism for securing attention 
or controlling the class. Intelligent interest in the sub- 
ject and full occupation of time are the two most effi- 
cient means of preventing disorder and commanding 
attention. It should, moreover, always be remembered 
that young children can give earnest attention for only 
a short time. 

Steps in Teaching. — The progressive steps in teach- 
ing are determined, with sufficient distinctness, by the 
general laws of mind. These have been considered in 
a previous chapter, and it will only be necessary here 
to indicate their application somewhat more specifically. 
The first law affirms that the mind naturally receives 
or grasps the material of knowledge in the form of 
wholes or aggregates. 

Division of Matter. — Consequently, the subject-matter 
of instruction, in any department of study, should be 
divided into convenient portions in such a way that 
each portion shall have a good degree of unity and 
completeness in itself. These portions may be called 
" lesson wholes," or lesson unities. Not infrequently 
these divisions will contain too much matter to be fully 
treated in one recitation period. In this case an intro- 
ductory outline-lesson should be given first,. presenting 
a general view of the whole, and indicating subdivisions 
for subsequent lessons. Such introductory lesson will 
conform to the general laws of teaching, but will em- 
brace only two steps, — the presentation of the whole, 
and an analysis of this into its appropriate parts. 

Introductory or Preparatory Step. — This step consists 
in bringing the minds of the pupils into a state to grasp 
readily, easily, and eagerly the matter of the new lesson. 
This is done by calling up into consciousness, by brief 



1 88 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

questioning or by other means, some previously acquired 
knowledge to which the new material is very closely 
related. The old may be a familiar fact, process, rule, 
law, or principle to which the new is related by similar- 
ity, contrast, or contiguity. 

This preparation may or may not include a direct 
statement of the purpose of the lesson. If the lesson 
has been previously assigned for study on the part of 
the child, the assignment has necessarily indicated the 
end to be reached, and a distinct statement of this may 
be required of the class at the outset. 

Second Step : Presentation. — The second step is the 
presentation of the matter of the lesson in accordance 
with the first general law of teaching. In case of pre- 
viously assigned lessons, the matter is already before 
the class, and a clear statement of it should be required 
from some pupil. 

Third Step : Analysis. — The third step consists in 
the thorough mastery of the new material as directed 
by the second general law of teaching, and the uniting 
or assimilating of the new with the old by means of 
natural relationships. The new thus enters into or- 
ganic relations with the old, and becomes a part of the 
permanent possessions of the mind. In many perhaps 
in most cases the work of the recitation closes here, 
with a brief review of the ground passed over and of . 
the points made during the process. 

A Fourth Step : Abstraction. — In lessons which involve 
the process of induction, and in those from which some 
general law, principle, or rule, may be inferred, a fourth 
step must be taken. The general notion, law, principle, 
or rule must be separated and drawn out from the indi- 
vidual facts, examples, or cases in which it is involved, 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 1 89 

and clearly and definitely formulated. This step is 
illustrated by the deduction of a rule in arithmetic from 
a number of examples, or a law of language from a 
number of sentences, or an ethical rule of conduct from 
the teachings of biography and history. As far as 
practicable, pupils should be led by questions and sug- 
gestions to make such inferences for themselves and to 
clothe them in their own language. The most valuable 
moral principles and practical lessons are taught in 
this way. 

A Fifth Step : Application. — A fifth step naturally 
follows the fourth : the general principle or rule reached 
in the fourth step is applied to new examples, to other 
individual cases, and to the solution of problems con- 
nected with every-day life. This is a process familiar 
to every teacher, and one which children delight to 
perform for themselves. It is one form of generaliza- 
tion and classification, and in some studies should re- 
ceive a large share of time and attention. Many recita- 
tions are occupied exclusively with this step, as others 
are by the fourth, and as most are by the first three. 

An attempt to embrace the five " formal steps " de- 
scribed by some German educators, which are essen- 
tially the same as the steps here indicated, in every reci- 
tation, is exceedingly unfortunate. The attempt forces 
the creation of purely artificial divisions, restricts free- 
dom of action on the part of the instructor, and reduces 
teaching to an unnecessary and unfruitful formalism. 
The best results will usually be attained in the reci- 
tation if the exact form of the teacher's work and the 
precise length of the steps which he shall take, although 
predetermined to a large extent by the nature of the 
subject and by previous preparation, are left to be 



190 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

directed somewhat by the conditions at the time and by 
circumstances which may arise as the work goes on. 

Methods of Teaching and Testing. — Class instruction 
may be given by somewhat formal lectures, by fa- 
miliar explanations of topics, by questioning, or by a 
combination of questioning and explanation and illus- 
tration. This combination is usually the most effective 
method in the ordinary school. 

Testing may be done by questioning, or by requiring 
pupils to discuss and explain assigned topics without 
questioning. Each method has advantages peculiar to 
itself; but the best results are secured, in most cases, 
by a combination of the two methods. Questions may 
be answered and topics may be discussed either orally 
or by writing. Both methods should be employed; 
the oral more with young children, writing more with 
advanced classes. 

Advantages Compared.' — The method of testing or 
reciting influences to a considerable extent the method 
of studying. The pupil prepares, perhaps uncon- 
sciously, to do what he is expected to do. If the reci- 
tation is conducted topically, he will devo'te more atten- 
tion to the subject-matter of the lesson as a whole, will 
observe the order of arrangement of the various parts, 
will be able to give an analytical outline readily and 
accurately, will secure a good knowledge of what may 
be called the form of the lesson. This is excellent as 
far as it goes, and in some subjects is very desirable : 
but it maybe form without substance; that is, for ex- 
ample, the pupil may have spent so much time and men- 
tal energy in fixing in memory the order of events, that 
he has failed to inquire into their real significance or 
their inner relationship; or he has struggled so hard to 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 191 

remember which of several statements precede and 
which follow, that he has failed to inquire why this 
arrangement is better or more necessary than some 
other. There is more danger of this result with ele- 
mentary than with advanced classes, but it is not con- 
fined to young children. 

Critical questioning leads to careful study of details, 
not of arrangement of matter merely, but of the reasons 
for the arrangement ; not of the order of the book sim- 
ply, but of the logical and necessary order, — in a 
word, not of the form alone, but of the content of the 
form. The topical test should consequently be sup- 
plemented by intelligent and, upon important points, 
exhaustive questioning. 

The topical method affords opportunity for practice 
in the use of language in connected discourse upon a 
subject supposed to have been thoroughly studied, for 
the careful selection and arrangement of words, and for 
putting important points in the clearest and most effec- 
tive way. It cultivates the power and helps to create 
the habit of presenting, in good order and in good form, 
thoughts previously considered and arranged. It does 
not, however, as is sometimes supposed, cultivate the 
power of systematic thinking to any considerable ex- 
tent; it does not cultivate quickness, sharpness, and 
readiness of thought ; it does not keep the mind awake 
and alert, as vigorous and searching questioning does. 
Evidently the two methods should be constantly em- 
ployed if the best results are to be reached, not merely 
in the acquisition of knowledge, but also in the acquisi- 
tion of mental power and of skill and facility in the use 
of that power. 

Questioning, etc. — Questioning, as a practical art, is 



192 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

so important and essential a part of the processes of 
instruction and testing, that a little special attention must 
be given to it. The ability to question well is scarcely 
less a requisite of the teacher than of the lawyer. The 
success of both depends largely upon the skilful use of 
this art, and the teacher should spare no reasonable 
effort to become an adept in both the matter and man- 
ner of questioning. 

Prerequisites on the Part of the Questioner. — The 
prerequisites for successful questioning are in substance 
the same as those for teaching and examining generally. 

( i ) A knowledge of the laws of mental action, and espe- 
cially of the laws of association and suggestion, is a first 
requisite. By his questions the teacher gives direction 
to the activities of -the pupil's mind, turns the " current 
of thought " now this way and now that, stirs first one 
and then another element of interest and incitement to 
exertion. This can be done well and wisely only pro- 
vided the teacher understands how one form of psychi- 
cal activity is related to another, and how the mind nat- 
urally and spontaneously assimilates the various mate- 
rials of its knowledge. Not seldom some questioner 
bewilders, mystifies, and perplexes, because he does not 
perceive the present attitudes of the pupil's mind, and 
consequently fails to give it any definite direction, leav- 
ing it to feel about at random, and grope in the dark. 
Very likely the teacher pronounces the scholar stupid 
for hesitating and blundering, while in fact the charge 
of stupidity properly lies in quite the opposite direction. 

(2) The second most important requisite is a thorough 
knowledge of the matter in hand, and of its relations to 
other parts of the same general subject, to what has pre- 
ceded, and to what is to follow. Without such knowl- 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 1 93 

edge the teacher can have no natural starting-point for 
his own share of the work, and cannot bring into the 
pupil's consciousness, in right order, the preliminary 
matter and ideas necessary to indicate the direction in 
which his activities are to be exercised. 

(3) It is essential also that the teacher have a definite 
purpose or end in view, to the attainment of which all 
his questions and efforts shall be directed. Much ques- 
tioning, like much other so-called teaching, goes for 
nothing, serves no useful purpose, accomplishes no 
appreciable result, because it has no previously deter- 
mined aim, no specific points to be reached or princi- 
ples to be established. The teacher labors as one who 
vigorously " beats the air," and the pupil as one who 
struggles violently in a tread-mill. There is abundant 
waste of energy, much apparent movement, but, after 
all the display, no real progress. 

As to Questions and Answers. — Certain general char- 
acteristics of questions can be suggested, — character- 
istics which all questions should possess, — but the 
teacher of experience and skill will not adopt and fol- 
low an unvarying order and form in the structure or 
arrangement of his questions ; he will seek to introduce 
some variety into this as into all school-exercises. 

Many questions will take the form of carefully con- 
structed, complete interrogative sentences; some will 
consist of short phrases ; others will be embodied in 
single words. The form of a second question must 
often be determined by the answer to the first, the form 
of the third by the answer to the second, and so on, 
each question being adapted to the condition of the 
pupil's mind, as revealed by his successive answers. 

Long lists of previously prepared questions for the 

13 



194 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

development of some idea, or of the meaning of some 
word, or for the elucidation of some topic, are of value 
chiefly as indicating the general course which the 
teacher intends to pursue and the end which he expects 
to reach. The substance of these questions may be 
used, but the form of the interrogations, and to a con- 
siderable extent even the order, will be determined by 
the replies of the class to the first questions. This fact 
must be kept in mind in the preparation of all so-called 
development-lessons and in teaching such lessons. 

All questions should be simple and clear in language, 
definite and direct in meaning, and in structure adapted 
to the degree of development and intelligence of the 
class. As a rule, they should not directly involve the 
answer, should not be so constructed as to excite the 
propensity to guess, and should not admit of the answer 
"yes" or "no." 

Teaching-questions should be arranged in consecu- 
tive and logical order, should be calculated to provoke 
thought, and should in many cases suggest the direc- 
tion in which the answer will be found. In some sub- 
jects, questions for examination must take a logical 
order ; in other subjects, this order may be disregarded. 

Manner in Questioning. — Here, as in all other parts of 
his work, room must be allowed for the teacher's indi- 
viduality to manifest itself. It is, however, important 
that the teacher of young children have a good degree 
of animation, a large amount of sympathy, a conta- 
gious earnestness and interest in the work, and much 
tact in making ready and skilful use of unexpected 
answers from the class. 

Questions should be asked in ordinary speaking-tones, 
uttered distinctly and clearly, and the habit of repetition 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 195 

should be avoided. For teaching purposes, questions 
should be put slowly ; time should be allowed for some 
deliberation on the part of the pupils; questions for 
testing may be put with more rapidity, and answers 
may be demanded, in many cases, with very little op- 
portunity for reflection. The subject-matter is supposed 
to be immediately in mind, and not to require any con- 
siderable degree of examination and arrangement. 

The ideal in questioning is to secure the undivided 
attention of every member of a class, and to compel 
every pupil to answer mentally every question. No 
method will absolutely reach this ideal, but a master of 
the art of questioning will make near approach to it. 

Calling for Answers. — Much depends upon the method 
employed in calling members of a class to recite or 
answer questions, and various mechanical devices have 
been* suggested for doing this, each device having some 
excellences and some defects peculiar to itself. Among 
these is the alphabetical or consecutive method, by which 
pupils are called in the order of their names arranged 
alphabetically, or in the order in which they sit or stand 
in the class. The objections to this plan are obvious, 
yet for some purposes it may be employed occasionally 
with advantage. 

Another is the random method, by which pupils are 
called without reference to the position of their names in 
the alphabet or to their places in the class. If this plan 
is adopted, questions should be put, as far as practicable, 
before any one is called to answer; and it should be 
understood that the same person may be called several 
times during the recitation ; otherwise this plan will be 
little better than the first for securing continued atten- 
tion from all members of the class. 



196 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

The simultaneous method, by which the whole class 
answers all questions in concert, is open to such grave 
objections that no teacher will employ it except occa- 
sionally for the sake of variety, or for the sake of econo- 
mizing time. Generally, the best results will be secured 
by varying the method somewhat, and resorting to such 
devices as are suggested by the nature of the subject, 
the character of the class, and the exigencies of the 
occasion. Any one plan unvaryingly pursued is likely 
to become monotonous and wearisome. 

Character of Answers. — The character which answers 
should have has been indicated, in a general way, in the 
discussion of questions, but one or two points demand 
a little special consideration. 

Guessing should not be tolerated. This is encour- 
aged by allowing pupils " to try " two or three times, as 
is sometime done in spelling-lessons. If the scholar 
understands the subject, if he knows what the question 
calls for, he can give a correct answer at once; if he 
does not know, he should not be encouraged to guess, 
with the hope that the guess may chance to be correct. 

Answers should be in good language' and in good 
form, but time should not be wasted by requiring a repe- 
tition of the question in the answer, or by insisting — 
in all cases, in all subjects, and in all grades — that the 
answer shall take the form of a complete sentence. 
With young children this is frequently desirable ; but an 
" iron-clad" rule in respect to this matter results, in not 
a few cases, in emphasizing form at the expense of sub- 
stance, in " tithing mint, anise, and cumin, to the neglect 
of weightier matters." The answer should, in all cases, 
express clearly and precisely the idea, and when possible 
should be in words of the pupil's own selection. The 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 1 97 

repetition of the teacher's language, or of the words of the 
book, does not give positive assurance that the scholar 
fully comprehends the meaning of what he is saying. 

" Telling " may be Teaching, — The oft-repeated 
maxim, " Never tell a pupil what he can find out for 
himself," needs to be received with considerable limita- 
tion. Not a little time is wasted in attempting to ques- 
tion out of a pupil's mind, or into it, something which 
should be told to him directly and immediately. This 
is not done to save the scholar hard work, but to put 
him into a condition to expend his time and energy in 
work which shall yield more and richer returns. Care 
and wise discretion must be exercised in determining 
what and how much to tell, but no pet theory or " edu- 
cational maxim " should stand in the way of doing what 
the best good of a pupil, at any particular time, requires. 
A well-known writer says, — 

" Telling the right thing at the right time and in the right 
way is teaching. Very often time is worse than wasted in a 
futile attempt to question out of a pupil what has never been 
questioned into him, and what he cannot by any possibility 
evolve from his ' inner consciousness.' It is one of the best 
characteristics of a good teacher that he knows exactly when 
and what to tell, as well as what to impart or to elicit by 
questioning." 

Superintendent Howland writes in respect to the 
class-recitation, — 

" Whether we regard the prime purpose of the school as 
mental or moral instruction and discipline, the formation of 
character, or the manual skill that shall aid in securing a com- 
fortable livelihood, the recitation is that about which centre 
all the activities of school-life, giving it success or stamping it 
with failure. 



198 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

" The personal influence of the teacher is of the first impor- 
tance ; the power to control and direct, invaluable ; the mag- 
netism which shall inspire and incite to earnest, loving effort, a 
necessity to the accomplished, successful teacher : but all these 
qualifications find full scope in the recitation, and without this 
end they have little cause or reason to be. 

" The recitation is the controlling influence, determining the 
length and character of the lessons, the manner of their prep- 
aration, the conduct of the pupil, his hours of study, his in- 
terest in school, and his regard for his teacher, and gives the 
color, the value, to all his school- days, his waking and sleep- 
ing hours. It is the recitation, with its direct or indirect 
influences, which makes him a trusty friend or a hopeless 
truant, a student or a scamp, and which will guide him along 
the paths of honest and successful industry, or into by-ways 
of indolence and worthlessness. Here he finds the rewards of 
well-doing or the condemnation of his negligence, — an incite- 
ment to renewed effort, or an excuse for feeble exertion and 
lax endeavor. 

" In the recitation, too, the teacher gives proof of her call- 
ing or shows her unfitness for her position. In the recitation 
is concentrated the devotion, the thought, the life of the 
teacher, and the work, the purpose, the zeal, and the per- 
formance of the pupil. Here is displayed the life of the 
school, and here is decided whether the school shall be a 
means of growth and development, or a source of unworthy 
motive, of false aims, and ignoble character." 



FOR READING. 

Page's Theory and Practice of Teaching, chapters vi. and vii. 
Pitch's Lectures on Teaching, lecture vi. 
Howland's Practical Hints to Teachers, chapter viii. 
McMurry's General Method, chapter viii. 



THE TEACHER IN THE CLASS. 1 99 

White's Elements of Pedagogy : The Lesson and the Reci- 
tation. 

Rein's Outlines of Pedagogics : The Formal Steps of In- 
struction. 

McLellan's Applied Psychology, chapters ix. and x. 

Lange's Apperception, Part II., section 3 : The Process of 
Teaching. 

Swett's Method's of Teaching, chapter vi. 

Prince's Methods in German Schools, chapter xiii. 

Tate's Philosophy of Education, Part III. 

Arnold's Waymarks for Teachers; topics, Purpose and 
Plans; The Lesson. 

Herbart and The Herbartians, Part II., chapter v. 



CHAPTER X. 

ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 

The Learner's Attitude. — The efficiency and produc- 
tiveness of the teacher's work depend very largely upon 
the attitude of the learner's mind both toward the 
instructor and toward the subject-matter of instruction. 
The attitude must be a receptive one, but not merely 
receptive ; it is not enough that the pupil is willing to 
receive, in a passive way and without positive effort on 
his own part, whatever the teacher may present. There 
must be an openness of mind, but not simply an open- 
ness ; it is not sufficient that the way of access to the 
soul be free from bars and bolts. Receptivity and 
openness are something, are much indeed, but these 
terms do not describe the mental attitude of a learner, 
of a genuine seeker after knowledge. The true student 
is not merely receptive and open to the approach of 
truth. 

An Active Condition. — The desired condition is an 
active one ; the mind is wide awake, keenly alert, wait- 
ing and eager to seize and appropriate anything placed 
before it, seeking to reach out and to grasp whatever 
it can lay hold upon. The attitude is much like that 
of a contestant in a race, watching for the signal to leap 
forward, impatient of delay and restraint, anticipating 
the pleasure of voluntary and vigorous action, and the 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 201 

joy and glory of victory. The eagerness which marks 
the commencement of a lesson should increase as the 
work progresses, as the excitement of the runner be- 
comes more intense when he enters upon the " home 
stretch," and the goal comes into view, and the encour- 
aging shouts of his friends nerve him to fresh effort. 

Attention. — This attitude of mind is usually described 
by the word "attention." Scarcely separable from atten- 
tion, indeed creating, inspiring and sustaining it, is that 
feeling called interest, which will be considered farther 
on. The great importance of attention is recognized 
by all students of applied psychology, and in a few 
cases it is made almost the basis of instruction in peda- 
gogics and pedagogy. The emphasis thus put upon 
attention may be readily pardoned, although the result- 
ing impression is sometimes unfortunate and misleading. 
Attention comes to be regarded as a distinct form of 
psychical activity, or a special and specific mental 
process. It has been described as a mental process 
immediately caused by the action of the attributes of 
external objects, and as a movement of ideas unified 
and controlled by the conception of some end. The 
truth of both statements may be admitted, although the 
first describes simple perception, and the second any 
regulated act of thinking or reasoning. 

Attention Described. — For our own purpose attention 
may be described as an intensified condition of any 
form of mental activity directed to some particular object 
or subject, or a state of mind in which its energy and 
activity are concentrated upon some particular object 
of observation or thought. This act of mental concen- 
tration may be compared very conveniently to the 
action of the microscope in concentrating the rays of 



202 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

light. The psychical activity is brought to a focus ; 
the whole effective mental energy expends itself upon 
a single object. The result is that the object is sharply 
defined, completely separated from all other objects, 
made to stand out clear and distinct in the mental 
vision. The microscope may be of a high or a low 
power; in the first case the field of view is very limited, 
but the object is marvellously distinct; in the second 
case the field is broader but the object is less clearly 
defined. 

Mental concentration follows the same law; the nar- 
rower the field, the more limited the view, the more 
intense the attention becomes and the more clearly 
defined the object of observation or of thought appears. 
Broaden the field, extend the view, intensity of attention 
is diminished and obscurity and indistinctness take the 
place of clearness and distinctness. The inference is 
obvious that if the subject-matter of a lesson is to be 
thoroughly impressed upon the mind of the pupil, is to 
be fully comprehended and surely retained, the points 
to be considered at one time must be few and must be 
sharply defined. 

Attention External and Internal. — This concentration 
of mental energy and activity may be either upon 
external objects or upon internal ideas and states of 
consciousness ; that is, attention may be either external 
or internal. In the first case it is intensified perception 
and observation ; in the second case it is reflection so 
intensified as to absorb all psychical energy, or it is 
profound thinking or reasoning, or it may be imagina- 
tion taking possession of the whole soul. In many 
cases external and internal attention alternate with 
great frequency; some striking fact of observation 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST 203 

excites for a moment the most intense attention; the 
fact is fully grasped by the perceptive activities ; imme- 
diately the mental energy turns itself inward ; the pro- 
cess of assimilation or apperception begins ; the mind 
is absorbed in giving this new acquisition its proper 
place, in classifying it with related knowledge and 
making it a part of the permanent possessions of the 
soul. 

Again, some object of perception attracts and fastens 
the attention; immediately, by the almost unconscious 
influence of a discovered relationship, representations 
of previously known objects come crowding into the 
mind, and the attention turns from the external to fol- 
low eagerly a train of suggested and recalled experiences. 

It is obvious that the forms of attention, if the term 
" form " is allowable, are as many and as various as the 
forms of mental activity. In the processes of learning 
and teaching, there is need that psychical action be 
intensified and turned now in one direction and now 
in another. The problem is how to produce the de- 
sired degree of intensity and to give it the right 
direction. 

Attention Non-voluntary and Voluntary. — Preliminary 
to some suggestions toward the solution of this problem, 
it is necessary to notice the two varieties of attention, 
or perhaps it would be more strictly accurate to say the 
two varieties of means for securing attention, since 
attention itself is essentially the same, by whatever 
means secured. The usual division of attention is into 
non-voluntary or reflex, and voluntary or volitional. 

The non-voluntary is produced by agencies or means 
not immediately, or not at all, under the control of the 
will of the individual; such means are called allure- 



204 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

merits, incitements, or stimuli. The voluntary is pro- 
duced by an impulse of the will. Attention, which is 
reflex in its inception, may become voluntary as the 
mental activity goes on and the feeling of interest is 
aroused. 

Attention of the Child Non-voluntary. — At first the 
attention of the young child is entirely reflex or non- 
voluntary. At school age it is still mainly reflex, but 
the developing force of the will and the growing power 
of habit, if the training of the child has been wise and 
uniform, are gradually bringing the various forms of 
mental activity into subjection to the self-directing 
power of the mind; more and more attention is be- 
coming voluntary. At maturity attention is chiefly 
voluntary, but never entirely so if the testimony of 
one's own consciousness may be trusted. The wander- 
ing of our thoughts when we would hold them steadily 
to some point, and the persistent and repeated return 
into consciousness of unwelcome subjects, afford illus- 
trations of the tendency of mental activity, at all periods 
of life, to break away from the control of the will, and 
to wander at random, or to allow itself to be held cap- 
tive by some dominant feeling, perhaps of a morbid 
character, which defies and successfully resists the 
power of self-control. 

Mechanical Devices, etc. — The teacher of young chil- 
dren is chiefly concerned about securing non-voluntary 
attention. While interest is the primary and only per- 
manent motive-power for exciting and retaining atten- 
tion, certain devices of a mechanical nature may be 
employed which have an influence in arresting tempo- 
rarily external attention ; favorable conditions may be 
created, and unfavorable ones may be removed or 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST 20$ 

avoided. Such devices and conditions, for the most 
part, affect the body and especially the nerves of sense, 
and through these affect the mental activities. 

It will be necessary here to refer only very briefly to 
devices and conditions, as most of them have been con- 
sidered elsewhere. 

(i) School-buildings and school-rooms should be 
removed, where this is possible, from all sights and 
sounds which are calculated to distract attention. 
Classes reciting should be secured from interruption 
by other pupils or by unnecessary movements of any 
sort in the room. 

(2) The arrangement of seats in the school-room, 
and more particularly for recitation purposes, should be 
such that all pupils may be easily observed by the teacher 
without special effort. Watching for disorder or inat- 
tention is disagreeable and irksome to an instructor and 
offensive to all well-disposed pupils. 

(3) School buildings and rooms should be kept free 
from uses which tend to create associations unfavorable 
to the concentration of mental energy and activity upon 
proper school-work; all associations connected with 
school-buildings and their surroundings should be made, 
as far as possible, to contribute to the efficiency of 
instruction. 

(4) The manner of questioning and of calling pupils 
to recite should be such as to necessitate continued and 
careful attention. 

(5) All recitations, lessons, and exercises of young 
children should be short and animated. Provision 
should be made for frequent change of position. Pupils 
should not be allowed to sit, or required to stand, 
through the entire recitation. 



206 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

(6) In demanding attention regard should be had to 
the time in the day and to the physical and mental con- 
dition of pupils. Carefully conducted experiments ap- 
pear to verify the conclusion long since reached by the 
testimony of every-day experience and observation, that 
mental vigor generally and the power of attention par- 
ticularly diminish from the beginning of the school 
session to its close with considerable regularity, if the 
session is of the ordinary length. Consequently, de- 
mands upon the pupil must be less exacting in the latter 
part of the day than in the early morning. 

Tests reported seem to indicate that as mental energy 
decreases, the loss in accuracy of work done is greater 
than loss in the amount. One investigator reports that 
he found an average falling off in accuracy of thirty- 
three per cent between the work in the morning and 
that done after four or five hours of instruction. Much, 
however, will depend upon the frequency of periods of 
rest, upon changes in the form of mental activity, and 
upon the hygienic condition of the school-room. Ex- 
periments have not yet been sufficiently extended to 
justify any broad generalizations, but' such investiga- 
tions have an important bearing upon the question of 
the proper length of school sessions for children of dif- 
erent ages, and also upon the question of " recess or 
no recess " during the sessions. Probably the amount 
of time given to recesses in most of our schools is too 
limited. It is not the length of time given to study or 
instruction that tells, but the intensity of attention and 
the energy and vigor of the mental movement. 

(7) Occasional Relaxation. — The old adage concern- 
ing the " bow always bent " has a considerable measure 
of truth. The mind of an earnest student needs oc- 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST 20J 

casionally that thorough relaxation which comes only 
from the appreciation and enjoyment of the humorous, 
provided the enjoyment does not degenerate into 
boisterousness, nor the humor into coarseness and 
vulgarity. Refined and delicate humor may sometimes, 
especially toward the close of a protracted session, be 
employed to relieve the strain of continuous attention, 
and remove that irritation which serious contact of the 
mind of the teacher with the mind of the pupil may 
unintentionally excite. 

The teacher who has his school or his class " well in 
hand " may " once in a while " safely relax for a few 
moments the restraint which usually rules in the school- 
room and permit an expression of good-natured feeling 
which relieves the monotony of school life. It is freely 
conceded that regard must be had for times and seasons, 
and especially for the disposition and temper of pupils. 

Professor Sidgwick says, in his essay on " Stimulus in 
School : " — 

" How then are we to stimulate attentiveness ? The 
obvious answer is, by making the lessons as interesting and 
amusing as possible. Interesting of course : but how? First, 
manner goes for something. The teacher should be as easy 
and friendly and familiar as he can ; all stiffness is a mistake. 
' But a schoolmaster must keep up his dignity.' If that means 
he must not make a buffoon of himself, and must not allow 
liberties to be taken with him, — then, certainly, yes. But my 
experience is that what is usually called at school ( keeping up 
your dignity' is altogether a mistake. You should put no 
artificial restrictions upon yourself. You should be able to 
say anything you like or want to say to your class; any 
illustration, any anecdote or jest which is in point, any per- 
fectly familiar address or appeal, — I would even say any 



208 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

digression ; in short, let the footing on which you are with 
your pupils be natural. 

" Do I really mean amusing ? Yes, certainly, as amusing as 
possible. I don't mean necessarily that the master should 
make jokes, for the simple reason, if for no other, that jokes are 
so often not amusing. But he should not be afraid of a joke if it 
comes in his way. For instance, I remember being present 
when a boy, being read out bottom of a grammar paper, 
[given the lowest standing], said playfully but respectfully, <I 
think there must have been some mistake, sir.' To whom 
the master replied gently, ' I think there must have been a 
good many.' The class were hugely delighted, and for the 
rest of the hour worked all the better for it." 

Interest : its Nature. — As previously stated, the 
only natural and sure incentive to attention is interest. 
We inquire, first, what is interest ; second, how is in- 
terest best excited and maintained. 

The term interest is employed in connection with a 
great variety of affairs and with widely differing mean- 
ings. A man is said to have large business interests : 
he is interested in some venture, in a suit at law, in a 
patent right, in the development of a 'mine, or in any 
one of a hundred other matters. With these uses of 
the word we are not here directly concerned. We have 
need only to inquire what interest is when the word is 
used in relation to school affairs, and especially when 
employed to denote that mental state of a teacher or 
of a pupil which is designated by the words " being 
interested." 

Interest as Feeling. — In strictness of speech interest 
is not definable ; it can be fully known only by personal 
experience. For our present purpose it will be suffi- 
ciently accurate to say that in the child, and, to a large 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST 20g 

extent, but not exclusively, in the more mature person, 
interest is feeling ; that is, a more or less excited state of 
mind, the excitement varying in intensity from a move- 
ment so gentle as to be hardly observable in conscious- 
ness to a disturbance of a most violent character. In its 
mildest form the feeling is a simple emotion, a gentle 
ripple upon the surface of the soul, most frequently 
pleasurable but sometimes painful, drawing or urging the 
mind toward that which excites the feeling. When in- 
terest grows more intense the soul is stirred more and 
more deeply, and the feeling becomes exceedingly com- 
plex, emotion, affection, and desire being mingled to- 
gether. In many cases pleasure, pain, hope, fear, 
anticipation, expectation, and even dread and terror, may 
be combined in various degrees to produce interest. 

Interest more than mere Feeling. — In young children 
interest can hardly be more than mere feeling, usually a 
state of agreeable mental excitement, which in the nature 
of things can continue for only a brief period. So long 
as interest is only feeling it must be transitory. Con- 
tinued interest, consequently, involves something in 
addition to feeling. As intellectual development goes 
on we come to be interested in objects, in courses of life, 
in men and things, not because they excite emotion, but 
because they appeal to the judgment, the reason, the 
imagination, and other purely intellectual activities. It 
may be said, and probably with truth, that in all these 
cases a pleasurable feeling is excited by the exercise of 
the mental activity; but this feeling follows or accom- 
panies, and does not precede and excite, the intellectual 
action. It is not the essential element in our interest, 
while it does, without doubt, give a pleasurable tone to 
it, and render it more effective. 

14 



2IO A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

In addition to the emotion of pleasure resulting from 
proper activity, either physical or psychical, there is 
positive enjoyment in mastering difficulties, in overcom- 
ing obstacles, in extending the field of one's mental 
vision, in becoming acquainted with more and more of 
science, art, literature, history, and other subjects of 
study. The feeling which accompanies this broadening 
of the mind and this increase of knowledge gives a sort 
of cheerful glow, a comfortable warmth to what would 
otherwise be merely a cold intellectual operation. 

The condition of soul which results from this union of 
intellectual expansion and comprehension, which may be 
called culture, with this pleasurable emotional state, the 
necessary concomitant of intellectual culture, is the 
essence of " many-sided " interest. In this condition 
the mind exercises its activity with ease and pleasure in 
many directions ; if one avenue is closed it turns readily 
to another ; it gathers food for thought from many and 
diverse subjects, so that it is in no danger of famishing ; 
it draws support, if support is needed, from a multitude 
of sources, so that it is never forsaken and helpless. This 
is the ideal condition of thoroughly educated manhood. 
In the ordinary school, however, the teacher will be 
chiefly concerned with the problem of exciting and 
maintaining that familiar sort of interest which secures 
immediate attention to present school work, while he will 
not be unmindful of the importance of that more per- 
manent interest which school studies and instruction 
should create in the mind of the pupil. 

Varieties of Interest and Means of Exciting Interest. 
— So far as interest is a feeling it is essentially the same, 
by whatever means it is excited ; but it is convenient, in 
discussing the subject, to speak of different varieties of 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 21 1 

interest as we speak of different desires. The divisions, 
however, cannot be made mutually exclusive. 

Interest is either (i) instinctive and spontaneous or 
(2) rational ; that is, it springs up in the soul without 
previous thought or reflection, without any consideration 
of advantage or profit of any sort, when certain condi- 
tions exist ; or it is kindled up by thinking and reasoning 
about advantage, profit, benefit, good of some kind 
which may be secured. The interest of the young child 
is mainly of the spontaneous sort ; it is not necessary to 
reason with the child or to exhort him, but simply to 
create the necessary conditions, and the interest appears. 
With more advanced students there is usually need of 
reasoning and explanation, of the presentation of advan- 
tages of one sort or another to be secured and enjoyed. 

Curiosity, Love of Knowledge. — The instinctive dis- 
position of the child to seek to know things, to become 
acquainted with his environment, we call curiosity. It 
is the spontaneous reaching out of the soul to meet the 
external world. It reaches out, not from considerations 
of advantage, but because of an irresistible impulse to 
do so. This curiosity itself is sometimes called native, 
inborn interest; but it is probably more strictly accurate 
to consider the feeling of pleasure which attends and fol- 
lows gratified curiosity as spontaneous interest. Baffled, 
defeated, unsatisfied curiosity is a source of pain rather 
than pleasure ; it destroys interest. 

The most effective means of securing the interest of 
young children is found in the judicious gratification of 
this spontaneous impulse of the soul. The resulting 
glow of pleasure holds attention until fatigue gives 
warning of the need of relaxation. 

Gradually this mere instinctive impulse of the child 



212 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

becomes, in the more advanced pupil, the love of knowl- 
edge. At bottom there is still the spontaneous element, 
the natural craving of the soul for that which supports 
its life and ministers to its growth and development. 
This native impulse is now re-enforced and strengthened 
by rational considerations. The pupil desires to know 
because knowledge will be of service to him in the con- 
duct of life, will help him " to get a good living," will 
give social position, personal influence, political power 
and preferment. 

Besides all this, a feeling of positive pleasure, which is 
near akin to interest, if it is not -interest itself, results 
from the appropriate exercise of the various forms of 
psychical activity. It gives an agreeable warmth to the 
soul to put forth its powers in perceiving, in remember- 
ing, in imagining, in judging and reasoning. In addition 
to this there is a sort of exhilaration, a moderate degree 
of exultation of mind, springing out of the conscious- 
ness of power to overcome difficulties, to solve hard 
problems, to throw new light upon the hitherto obscure, 
to uncover hidden treasures of knowledge, and to push 
out a little further the boundary line between the fully 
known and the merely hypothetical. 

In order to excite and keep alive a sufficient degree 
of interest, in the average pupil, it is only necessary for 
the teacher to make provision for the proper gratification 
of this native love of knowledge, to afford free scope for 
the exercise of the mental powers, and to render such 
aid, and only such, as may be necessary to insure suc- 
cess and mastery to the student in his struggle with 
difficulties. Too much assistance lessens the feeling of 
self-reliance and the pleasure of victory, and conse- 
quently lessens interest. 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 213 

Natural Interest. — Interest may be regarded as natu- 
ral and wholesome, or artificial and unwholesome, ac- 
cording to the nature of the means by which it is excited. 
That interest is natural which is excited by natural and 
legitimate means ; that is artificial and unnatural which 
is excited by artificial devices and contrivances. Among 
the natural means of arousing interest are, first, the ob- 
ject or subject of study itself. As previously stated, the 
soul has a spontaneous love of knowing. It hungers 
after knowledge. The satisfaction of this hunger pro- 
duces a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment, of real interest. 
The skill of the teacher is shown in the selection of 
matter adapted to the age, the stage of development, 
and to what may be called the assimilative or apper- 
ceiving power of the mind resulting from its previous 
acquisitions. 

Experience and observation unite in testifying that 
a new object of study, in order to excite interest in the 
learner, must have two apparently opposite character- 
istics. It must have some degree of familiarity, must 
bear some resemblance to one or more known things, 
must have some points by which it can, without too 
much difficulty, be attached to the present content of 
the mind. An object entirely new, especially if it be 
very unusual and strange, seems to repel and half para- 
lyze the mind. The presentative powers hesitate to lay 
hold upon it ; the impression felt is painful rather than 
pleasurable. Under such circumstances attention can- 
not be secured. 

While entire strangeness must be avoided, the object 
should possess something of novelty and variety ; with 
its likeness there should be a measure of unlikeness. 
The mind refuses to be interested in sameness and in 



214 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

the mere repetition of the familiar. It delights in unit- 
ing something new with the old. This is not by any 
means a recent discovery in psychology and pedagogy. 
A century ago Maria Edgeworth wrote, in her " Practical 
Education," " Some people imagine that, as children 
appear averse to repetition, variety will amuse them. 
Variety to a certain degree certainly relieves the mind ; 
but then the objects which are varied must not all be 
entirely new. Novelty and variety joined fatigue the 
mind. Either we remain passive at the show, or else 
we fatigue ourselves with ineffectual activity." In illus- 
tration she relates the oft-repeated story of the Esqui- 
maux taken through the streets of London. " They 
walked for several hours in silence; they expressed 
neither pleasure nor admiration at anything which they 
saw. When their walk was ended, they appeared un- 
commonly melancholy and stupefied. As soon as they 
got home, they sat down with their elbows upon their 
knees, and hid their faces between their hands. The 
only words they could be brought to utter were, ' Too 
much smoke — too much noise — too much houses — 
too much men — too much everything.' " 

Second, the relations and connections of the object. 
Interest in the object itself is sometimes called direct, 
and interest in its relations and connections, indirect. 
The latter, however, is as natural, legitimate, and whole- 
some as the former. Many objects are interesting only 
on account of their relations, associations, history, and 
so forth. Much of the interest in school studies and 
instruction must of necessity be of this indirect sort. 

Perhaps it would be better to say that indirect interest 
unites itself with direct so intimately that the two be- 
come inseparable. The more relations an object has, 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 21 5 

the more interesting it appears; the interest in any- 
single historic event increases in proportion to the 
number of other events with which it is connected. 

Taking advantage of this fact it will often be easy for 
the teacher to increase the interest of pupils in objects, 
subjects, persons, and events which otherwise would 
have little attraction. 

Artificial Interest. — Artificial interest, as already 
stated, is that which is excited by devices and con- 
trivances having no natural and necessary relationship 
to the subject in which interest is to be created. These 
means are equally applicable to all subjects and to all 
objects which fall within the province of the school. 
The fatal objection to such interest is, that, at best, it 
can be only temporary, and that it is generally unwhole- 
some in its influence upon character. 

Prizes, etc. — Among these devices are prizes of vari- 
ous kinds, including articles of pecuniary value, class 
honors, rolls of honor, merit marks, etc. It is admitted 
that these are employed by some excellent teachers 
and in some good schools. It is further admitted that 
a few instructors are able to use such incentives so as 
to secure valuable results without apparent injury to 
the character of pupils. But after all the concessions 
which can be asked have been freely made, it still re- 
mains true that, in the great majority of cases and in 
the hands of most teachers, devices like those named, 
and others of similar nature are productive of vastly 
more harm than good. 

A distinction may be made between prizes and re- 
wards. A prize is something which can be secured by 
only one of two competitors, or by one, or a very few, 
of any number of competitors. All may strive, but only 



216 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

one or a very small number, can possibly win. A re- 
ward, on the other hand, is something which, however 
many are concerned, all may attain who reach a certain 
required degree of excellence. The fact that one ob- 
tains the reward does not preclude others from obtain- 
ing it. If the standard of excellence is not placed too 
high, not above the possible attainment of any faithful, 
earnest, and industrious student, many of the objections 
which are justly urged against prizes cannot be urged 
against rewards. If rewards could be made natural 
instead of artificial, they would be legitimate incentives 
to interest and exertion. 

Objections to Prizes. — Among the objections to prizes 
a few only can be mentioned. First of all, and the most 
serious of all, is the objection that the struggle for a 
prize, in a majority of cases, excites, between compet- 
itors and their friends, feelings of unkindness, ill-will, 
envy, and jealousy. The bad rather than the good ele- 
ments of human nature are excited to activity; the 
competitors are less generous, less noble, less excellent 
in many respects, when the contest ends than when it 
commenced. 

Another fatal objection is that the interest aroused 
by the offer of a prize, in the very nature of the case, 
is confined to a very small number, however large the 
class or the school may be, and those included in this 
number are generally the persons who least of all re- 
quire such artificial stimulus. The average pupils and 
those below the average, who are in especial need of 
stimulation, remain unaffected, or possibly are left in a 
worse condition than before. 

It is hardly necessary to speak of the temptation to 
dishonesty and deception which comes with the ambi- 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 2\J 

tion and struggle to win a prize, or of the great practi- 
cal difficulty of bestowing a prize justly ; or of the fact 
that the prize crowns success rather than effort; or of 
the injury sometimes done to the health of nervous and 
excitable pupils. These and other evils of the prize 
system are well understood. 

It is not urged that artificial incentives to interest are 
never to be employed, but that they should be employed 
only in exceptional cases and for brief periods. Of two 
motives which may be used, the higher should always be 
selected. The degree of excellence to which any person 
has attained may be readily estimated by the worthiness 
or unworthiness of the motives which determine his con- 
duct. The teacher elevates or degrades his pupils by the 
nature of the incentive to exertion which he habitually 
employs. 

Sympathetic Interest. — Interest excited by sympathy 
is natural and legitimate, although sometimes perverted 
and employed for base purposes. The general law of 
mind is, that feeling of any kind exhibited by one per- 
son tends to the production of like feeling in com- 
panions and associates, and indeed in all who are near 
enough to see and hear, unless the behavior of the 
individual is such as to excite the feeling of aversion 
and disgust. It is as if the overflowing emotion of the 
one soul poured itself over into another soul through 
some unseen channel, or the excited current in the one 
mind discharged itself, along an intangible conductor, 
into another mind. 

This is seen in the social gathering, where one earnest 
soul, full of living interest in some subject, stirs the 
whole company and sets them on fire with his own 
enthusiasm. It is seen in the great assembly where the 



2l8 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS, 

orator fills the whole multitude with his own burning 
zeal. It is observed as truly in a dozen children crowd- 
ing about some boy or girl relating a marvellous story 
of personal experience or observation. 

In accordance with this general law interest in the 
teacher communicates itself to pupils; lack of interest 
in the teacher will be responded to by lack of interest 
in the child. The tide of interest in the school or in 
the class will never rise higher than the tide in the 
teacher. But interest on the part of the instructor must 
be genuine, and not feigned ; it must be an intelligent 
interest inspired by a thorough and fresh knowledge of 
the subject to be taught, and by a conviction of the im- 
portance and dignity of the work immediately in hand. 
The lesson is presented as if this, just now, were the 
only thing in the world worth doing ; everything else is 
forgotten for the time ; the whole energy of the soul is 
given to the subject and the class. 

Care should be taken not to confound true interest, 
such interest as befits the school-room, with that 
affectation of interest which manifests itself in loud 
talking, in violent gesticulation, in rapid and distracting 
movements over the platform or about the room. This 
is, in most cases, mere device, and like other extrava- 
gant devices soon loses its power and becomes re- 
pulsive. True interest inspires, animates, shines in the 
eye, speaks in the tones of the voice, expresses itself in 
every feature of the countenance, but it is seldom noisy 
and never boisterous, never unmindful of the proprieties 
belonging to the time and place. 

Suggestions. — (i) In attempts to excite interest and 
secure attention it must be remembered that the young 
pupil is influenced by things near at hand both in time 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 219 

and space. A moderate degree of immediate pleasure 
moves the child much more effectually, determines the 
direction of his conduct more surely, stirs him to more 
vigorous action, than the .promise or probability of a 
much higher degree of pleasure at some future period, 
even though that period be not very remote. A week, 
a month, a year are much the same in the child's 
calendar. To-day he understands; to-morrow is con- 
siderably remote; beyond that everything is distant, 
dim, and shadowy. 

Gradually, as development progresses and experiences 
multiply, it becomes possible for the pupil to represent 
to himself the future and distant so vividly that the feel- 
ing of anticipation and expectation comes to be a source 
of positive pleasure. When this stage is reached the 
teacher is able to lead the child to compare a pleasure 
in anticipation with one in possession and to give the 
preference to the latter. Attempts to do this to any 
considerable extent in the earliest periods of school life 
are likely to end in failure and disappointment, and 
children may be blamed, with no sufficient reason, for 
not postponing the present to the future. 

(2) The importance of the feeling of expectation in 
securing and holding interest and attention, not only 
in young children but also in more advanced students, 
is not generally fully appreciated. The teacher who 
occupies the entire time of a class exercise in simply 
hearing pupils recite in succession what they have 
previously learned, without note, comment, addition, or 
explanation, can have only such attention as devices 
and contrivances will command. Possibly this fact 
accounts for the high value sometimes put upon such 
artificial means. 



220 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Continued voluntary attention is conditioned upon 
continued expectation. The mind must be in the 
attitude of watching for something more ; the feeling is 
a mixed one; the pain of unsatisfied curiosity is 
mingled with the pleasure of eager anticipation. In 
order to induce this state of expectation the matter 
of the lesson, although in good measure previously pre- 
pared by the class, must be unfolded little by little, step 
by step, each step opening the way for the next, each 
fact or truth pointing forward to something not yet 
reached, and every advance evidently bringing the mind 
nearer and nearer to the attainment of the final purpose 
of the recitation. 

Mr. Sully says : — 

" In expectation the attitude of the mind is one of strenuous 
activity. It stretches forward in anticipation of the coming 
event. This expectation may be of different degrees of per- 
fection. Thus we may know only the time of the impression, 
but not its nature. In listening to a new poem or a new 
musical composition we anticipate the succeeding sounds in 
their regular recurrence. This anticipation of a new im- 
pression (or series of impressions) after a regular interval is a 
condition of the pleasurable effect of an orderly rhythmic 
sequence of sounds or sights. The mind not only adjusts it- 
self to each new impression, but has a continual satisfaction of 
nascent expectation." 

This feeling of expectation, turned in a somewhat 
different direction, has value in the school in addition 
to its efficacy in securing interest and attention. It 
is the most potent stimulus to vigorous effort in 
overcoming difficulties and in the struggle to attain 
desired ends. No one can do his best in any depart- 



ATTENTION AND INTEREST. 221 

ment of labor who has but little or no expectation of 
success. Consequently that teacher will secure the best 
results who keeps this feeling alive in children by- 
requiring of them only so much as they can accomplish 
by reasonable effort. Lessons should be carefully ac- 
commodated to the capacities and powers of the average 
pupil rather than to those of the most brilliant members 
of the class. 

(3) It is obvious that interest and desire are closely 
related, often apparently, perhaps really, intermingled. 
The usual order, however, is, first, interest, then desire ; 
children especially desire that which interests them. 
In most cases, in the school, interest is excited for the 
itnmediate purpose of creating a desire for some object 
or some course of conduct. The ultimate purpose is 
generally to secure action of some sort; but voluntary 
action must be preceded by the psychical activity of 
volition, and this must be preceded by the impulsive 
force of desire. The series of mental states and acts 
consists of interest, desire, volition, attention. 

(4) The aim of the teacher should be to aid the 
pupil in forming as early and as rapidly as possible 
the habit of attention. The effect of habit is to render 
an act easy, and thus to lessen the effort necessary for 
its performance. If attention can be made automatic 
or nearly so, the nervous and mental energy required 
for a vigorous act of volition is thereby set free to be 
employed for other purposes. One great end of edu- 
cation is the formation of good psychical habits; the 
formation of such habits greatly increases the produc- 
tive power of the mind. 

Another important result of a fixed habit of attention 
is that the mental energy can be concentrated, with 



222 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

comparatively little effort, upon objects and subjects 
which excite a very mild degree of emotional interest. 
One comes to be able to give attention to things in 
which he is not particularly interested on the side of 
feeling. He is, consequently, much more completely 
master of himself in the matter of the selection of 
studies, and is no longer obliged to yield to the control 
of " likes and dislikes " in determining the direction in 
which he shall expend his mental energies. 

(5) It should be remembered that intense attention, 
in any direction, taxes the nervous energy very severely. 
Such attention is speedily followed by a state of fatigue, 
a condition of more or less complete physical and psy- 
chical exhaustion, when any good degree of attention 
is impossible. Care should be taken not to make 
unreasonable demands upon the attention of children 
or even upon that of more advanced pupils. 



FOR REFERENCE AND READING. 

Sully's Outlines of Psychology, chapter iv. 
Putnam's Elementary Psychology, chapter xv. 
Compayre*'s Lectures on Teaching, chapters v. and xi. 
Bain's Education as a Science ; topic, Concentration. 
Page's Theory and Practice of Teaching, chapter viii. 
McMurry's General Method, chapter iii. 
Ribot's Psychology of Attention. 

Herbart's Science of Education ; Second Book : Many- 
sidedness of Interest. 

McLellan's Applied Psychology, chapter iii. 
Parker's Talks on Pedagogics, chapter vi. : Attention. 
Herbart and The Herbartians, Part I., chapter v. 



CHAPTER XI. 

MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 

A Moral Being. — Moral instruction and training pre- 
suppose a moral being to be educated and trained. 
Consequently it is important, at the very outset, to have 
a definite notion of what is meant by a moral being. 
Leaving aside all metaphysical discussion, a moral being 
may be defined as a being that can justly be held to 
accountability for his character and conduct, — who may 
be rightly commended and blamed, praised and cen- 
sured, rewarded and punished. 

Necessary Elements in the Nature of a Moral Being. — 
In order that a being may be held justly accountable for 
his character and conduct, he must possess (i) intelli- 
gence, and (2) freedom of choice. He must be capable 
of understanding clearly the difference between right 
and wrong, and must be free to choose and pursue one 
of these in preference to the other. He must be able 
to comprehend relations existing between himself and 
others, and, to some extent at least, the obligations and 
duties growing out of such relations. He must have 
the ability to see the connection between conduct and 
its consequences, and the influences of conduct upon 
the well-being both of himself and of his fellows. He 
must be capable of receiving instruction and of " grow- 
ing in knowledge," not alone of the ordinary sciences 



224 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

and arts, but also in relation to the science of duty and 
the art of good behavior. 

It is not necessary to moral accountability that one 
should know, or should be capable of knowing with 
absolute certainty, the ultimate grounds upon which 
moral distinctions are based. It will be sufficient for 
him to comprehend such proximate reasons for conduct 
as commend themselves to the common judgment of 
mankind, and are approved by the intuitive power of the 
human soul. 

It will be readily conceded that responsibility is not 
determined and limited by the knowledge actually at- 
tained, but by that which might have been attained by 
reasonable effort, — not by what one really knows, but 
by what one might have known if he had diligently 
employed the powers and means at his command. 

The second element is as essential as the first. It is 
not enough to know that one thing or one course of con- 
duct is right, and that another thing or another course 
of conduct is wrong; there must also be freedom to 
choose and ability to pursue the right in preference to 
the wrong. This necessarily involves the power of self- 
determination and self-direction, or what is usually 
named the freedom of the will. In the young child it 
is evident that this power of self-determination exists 
only in germ and possibility. Consequently, at first, 
he is held to only very limited responsibility, the meas- 
ure of responsibility being gradually increased, as the 
proper education and training of the will increases its 
effective force and renders it master of itself and of its 
environment. It is assumed here that the developed 
and normally constituted human being has the power of 
self-direction, subject to certain recognized limitations, 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 225 

but in a degree sufficient to justify holding him to rigid 
accountability for his character and manner of living. 
The only justification offered for this assumption at this 
point is an appeal to consciousness. Every man, and 
every child of school age, feels within himself a freedom 
in choosing and acting, and admits, though sometimes 
reluctantly, that he is responsible for being what he is 
and for doing what he does. 

The Problem. — Given a being possessing in germ the 
intelligence and freedom necessary to render him ac- 
countable for his character and conduct, the problem 
presented to the moral educator is, how shall it be made 
reasonably certain that this being, the human child, 
when fully developed will possess a good character 
and will choose and pursue a right course of life; 
that he will be an upright citizen, a faithful friend, 
an accommodating neighbor, an agreeable associate ; 
that he will be honest in business, just in all his deal- 
ings, stern and exacting when there is need of stern- 
ness and exaction, yielding and forgiving when these 
qualities are in place, always considerate, kind, and 
courteous? 

Conditions of a Right Solution of the Problem. — This 
problem can be rightly solved and the proper character 
and conduct insured only on condition that the child 
shall come to possess two things, — (1) a practical 
knowledge of the right and the wrong in human rela- 
tions, of what one ought and ought not to do in con- 
duct ; and (2) a permanent disposition to love and to do 
the right, and to hate and to avoid the wrong. Both 
these things are absolutely necessary in order to reach 
the desired result ; knowledge will not insure right con- 
duct if the disposition is wanting. The disposition 



226 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

alone will not be enough, since one, with the best of 
intentions, may go wrong on account of ignorance. 

The Teacher's Work. — If these conditions are cor- 
rectly stated, it is easy to discover the work of the 
parent and the teacher in the moral education and 
training of the child. The child is to be helped to obtain 
the necessary knowledge, is to be instructed in respect 
to the character he should form and the manner of life 
he should lead. The outline of the moral powers, found 
in chapter v., will suggest the general nature of the in- 
struction most needed, and the methods by which such 
instruction may be given most effectively. Moral in- 
tuition will without instruction, when development is 
sufficiently advanced, perform its office of bringing into 
consciousness the primary idea of a distinction in the 
nature of things, of a right and a wrong in character 
and in conduct. It will not undertake to determine 
what is right and what is wrong, but merely affirms that 
somewhere a line of separation exists, and can be dis- 
covered by appropriate examination and inquiry. To 
make such examination and inquiry is the function of 
the moral perception, the judgment, and the reasoning 
powers. Consequently, instruction is to be addressed to 
these activities ; the child is to be helped to perceive 
clearly the moral qualities of states and acts, to see and 
to appreciate properly the good, the true, and the beau- 
tiful in human character and conduct, to feel an aversion 
for whatever is impure, degrading, and base, and to 
decide intelligently and readily in respect to personal 
relations, obligations, and duties. The processes in- 
volved in such instruction being chiefly intellectual, 
the work is not peculiarly difficult for one who has a 
tolerably good knowledge of the natural activities of 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 227 

the child's mind, and of the avenues of approach to the 
sensibilities. 

That part of the teacher's work which has to do with 
the creation of a permanent disposition to choose the 
good rather than the bad, to do the right when the right 
is understood, to postpone a present pleasure for a dis- 
tant advantage, to place duty above and before the grati- 
fication of appetite and passion, to hold fast to honor 
and integrity at the sacrifice of apparent personal pecu- 
niary gain, and to regard the interests and rights of 
others as equally sacred with one's own, is more diffi- 
cult and perplexing, and requires much more of care, 
skill, and practical wisdom. This is essentially the 
development and training, or in a word the culture, 
of the will. This culture cannot be carried on apart 
from the culture of the other forms of psychical activity. 
The will is not some mysterious power distinct from the 
rest of the mind. It is a complex mode of mental 
action inseparably connected with the process of know- 
ing and the susceptibility of feeling. We know, we feel, 
we will ; the direction of the willing is determined by 
the direction of the knowing and the character of the 
feeling. On the other hand, the direction of much of 
our thinking and the nature of our feeling are largely 
determined by the action of the will. 

The One Purpose. — Consequently the acquisition of 
knowledge on the part of the child, and the creation of 
a right disposition, must proceed together; and the 
efforts of the teacher will embrace both objects, so com- 
bined as to constitute, in fact, but one purpose, that is, 
the right moral education and training of the pupil. 

The Beginning. — The processes, methods, and steps 
in this education and training will be better under- 



228 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

stood if we commence, or suppose ourselves to com- 
mence, with the child at the very beginning of con- 
scious life. Some steps in this work were briefly indi- 
cated in chapter vi., but the importance of the subject 
will be a sufficient apology for a repetition, in a different 
connection, of some things there stated without much 
elaboration. 

At first, Germs only. — Like all the other psychical 
activities, the moral powers exist in the young child 
only as germs and possibilities. These germs undoubt- 
edly unfold and expand a little earlier or a little later, 
according to the environment, according to the efforts 
of parents, and the warmth or chilliness of the moral 
atmosphere in which the child is enveloped. If the 
atmosphere is warm, the unfolding is hastened ; if it is 
cold, the opening is retarded. Without doubt, how- 
ever, under the most favorable conditions, considerable 
time elapses, after the awakening of consciousness, be- 
fore the intuitive idea of a distinction between right and 
wrong appears in the mind, or any notion of a law of 
conduct apart from one's own impulses. The child 
at this period can have no conception of relations, 
rights, or duties. Its behavior has no moral aspect or 
coloring. 

First Discoveries in Connection with Conduct. — Very 
early — how early it is impossible to determine posi- 
tively — the child discovers that the mother, or whoever 
has charge of it, approves some conduct and disap- 
proves other conduct. This discovery is made almost in- 
stinctively and probably nearly or quite unconsciously. 
The tones of the mother's voice, her smiles and frowns, 
her movements, her manner in handling the child, — all 
these are interpreted, perhaps unconsciously, as indi- 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 229 

eating approval or disapproval, pleasure or displeasure. 
Presently the discovery is made that some kinds of be- 
havior are connected or closely followed, not alone by 
evidences of disapproval and displeasure on the parent's 
part, but by more or less of personal discomfort and 
pain ; while different behavior is attended both by signs 
of approval and pleasure on the part of the mother, and 
by personal comfort and satisfaction. 

Associations Made. — These conditions having been 
regularly and constantly repeated for considerable time, 
the child makes a permanent double association. It 
associates one sort of conduct with the mother's ap- 
proval, and also with its own comfort and satisfaction ; 
another and different sort of conduct is associated with 
the mother's disapproval and displeasure, and likewise 
with personal discomfort and pain. The associations 
will be formed only on condition that the treatment of 
the child is entirely uniform. If the same conduct is fol- 
lowed at one time by one result and at another time by 
a different result, no law of sequence can be discovered, 
and consequently no association of cause and effect, of 
behavior and its natural results, can possibly be made. 
The mind of the child is of necessity kept in a state of 
confusion and uncertainty ; no relations between things 
can be perceived; no motive for conduct can be dis- 
covered ; and consequently no training of the will can 
possibly take place. 

Motives to Conduct. — If, on the other hand, perfect 
uniformity and consistency are maintained in the man- 
agement of the child, the associations just spoken of are 
formed, relations between cause and effect, conduct and 
consequences, are clearly perceived, and motives are 
discovered which begin to act with some force upon the 



230 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

unfolding power of self-direction, the will. One motive 
is the instinctive desire or impulse to seek personal com- 
fort and satisfaction ; the other motive is the instinctive 
desire for the approval of the mother, indicated by- 
tones of voice, smiles, and other means. It is not neces- 
sary to suppose that the child, at first, is distinctly con- 
scious of these instinctive impulses, but it is obvious 
that they are active forces in determining conduct at a 
very early period. 

Law of Conduct. — Gradually the child becomes 
aware of a law of conduct outside of itself, and alto- 
gether distinct from its own spontaneous impulses and 
inclinations, and begins to render obedience to this law, 
— an obedience into which something of the voluntary 
element enters as a result of the action of the motives 
previously mentioned. This law is the will of the 
mother, expressed by language and by signs of va- 
rious kinds, which the child soon learns to interpret if 
they are employed uniformly and consistently. The 
obedience of the child will not, at this stage of develop- 
ment, be regular and ready; other native impulses and 
inclinations will come into sharp conflict with the in- 
stinctive impulses which make for obedience to the 
newly recognized law. The result will be frequent out- 
breaks, more or less violent, of rebellion against external 
authority. It is of the highest importance to moral cul- 
ture, and to the training of the will, that the parent or 
teacher deal wisely and prudently with these outbreaks. 
Anger and passion must be met, not by answering 
anger and passion, but by calm and steady firmness and 
decision. The result of such contests should leave upon 
the mind of the child the conviction that law is fixed and 
unvarying, and authority irresistible and imperturbable. 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 23 1 

Idea of Right. — At the period of development now 
under consideration, the child probably has no idea of 
moral right or wrong in his own conduct or in the 
requirement of the law imposed upon him. He is, 
nevertheless, learning his first moral lesson, — the lesson 
of obedience to rightful authority, under the impulse of 
the only motives which he is capable of comprehend- 
ing. If the exercise of authority is wise and uniform, 
the habit of obedience is rapidly formed, which renders 
submission much easier and more constant. Within a 
brief time the growing force of habit is added to the 
other motives which impel to such conduct as the law 
of the mother's will demands. Consequently three im- 
pulses are now operating upon the child to produce 
obedience : the desire of approval, the desire for per- 
sonal comfort, and the force of habit. 

It is probable that at about this stage of development 
the child begins to be dimly conscious of the intuitive 
idea of right, of a distinction between kinds of conduct, 
and that moral perception and judgment commence to 
manifest a slight and hardly observable activity. Proper 
instruction and training and favorable surroundings will 
tend to hasten the growth of these powers. 

Forces now Acting to produce Right Conduct. — The 
child's moral law, if the term " moral " can be used here, 
is still the will or commands of the parent. Conformity 
to this law brings pleasure ; nonconformity brings dis- 
comfort or pain. The forces now acting upon the child 
to insure obedience are the desire of approbation, the 
desire of personal comfort, the growing force of habit, 
probably a feeble desire, just beginning to manifest it- 
self, to give pleasure to those with whom he is associ- 
ated, and a weak impulse to do or not to do certain 



232 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

things, arising from a still indistinct idea that some 
things ought to be done and other things ought not to 
be done. The feeling is that of obligation to conform 
to the requirements of law because these requirements 
ought to be obeyed, or in other words because they are 
right. It is granted that this feeling is, at first, very 
weak and not well comprehended, but its strength in- 
creases with a good degree of rapidity, and its nature 
soon becomes pretty clearly understood, provided the 
child is subject to wise instruction and judicious train- 
ing. The feeling of obligation is necessarily attended, or 
immediately followed, by feelings of self-approval and 
conscious satisfaction, or by feelings of self-condemna- 
tion and dissatisfaction, according as there has been obe- 
dience or disobedience to the requirements of law, that 
is, the will and commands of parents or others in author- 
ity. The impulsive action of conscience attends the 
action of the judgment. It insists that the decisions 
and directions of the judgment shall be regarded and 
obeyed. The activity of conscience is, for considerable 
time, fitful, weak, and easily overborne by the more im- 
perative demands of appetite and passion. The dispo- 
sition to consider self as the centre around which all 
other persons and things should revolve is still very 
strong. The egoistic feelings and impulses predomi- 
nate over the altruistic during this early stage of devel- 
opment, and they can be restrained within proper limits 
only after the moral powers and the will have become 
more reliable and more uniform in their action. 

At School Age. — The child has reached the stage of 
development just described at the time of entering 
school. His law of conduct is the will of the parent or 
of others in authority over him, as expressed by require- 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 233 

merits and prohibitions. If the treatment of the child 
by the parent has been wise, reasons for requirements 
and prohibitions have been given as fully as the opening 
intelligence of the child could comprehend them, and 
such motives have been urged for conduct as would be 
likely to influence the will. Authority has not yet been 
relaxed to any appreciable extent, but the way has been 
prepared for throwing the child gradually more and 
more back upon the decisions of his own judgment, and 
for bringing him to discover that the law imposed upon 
him is not merely the arbitrary will of one stronger than 
himself, but rather an expression of what is necessary, 
profitable, and right in behavior. This state of mind 
will be more readily produced if the management of the 
parent or of the teacher, when the child has entered 
school, is such as to impress upon him the idea of 
superior wisdom and superior goodness in the parent or 
teacher. This idea, even though it be somewhat indis- 
tinct at first, awakens the instinctive feeling of respect 
and reverence, which has much influence upon the will. 
At this stage it is of the very highest importance that 
the character and conduct of those in authority be such 
as to command silently the respect and confidence of 
the child. 

Forces impelling to Right Conduct. — The forces now 
impelling the pupil to right conduct are the love of 
approbation, the desire for personal enjoyment, the 
desire, not yet very strong, to contribute to the happi- 
ness of those who are contributing to his own enjoy- 
ment, the force of habit, the imitative propensity, the 
growing feeling of obligation to conform to the decis- 
ions of the moral judgment, and the feelings excited by 
obedience or disobedience to the demands of conscience ; 



234 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

that is, the feeling of self-approval and satisfaction fol- 
lowing obedience, or the feeling of self-condemnation 
and dissatisfaction following disobedience. In addition 
to these natural impelling forces, some artificial rewards 
and penalties are usually devised to influence the deter- 
minations of the will. These, in order to be effective, 
must be unvarying and as nearly as possible in the 
nature of natural and unavoidable results of conduct. 

Moral Education and Training in the School. - — The 
work of the school should continue and supplement 
that of the home ; and like that will consist of two 
parts, instructing the intelligence and forming the dis- 
position, or unfolding and directing the judgment and 
training the will. The two purposes will be accom- 
plished at the same time and by the same means. The 
conclusions of an instructed and enlightened judgment, 
re-enforced by the imperative demands of conscience, 
become the most effective forces for influencing the 
will in the right direction. The general nature of moral 
teaching and training in public schools, the basis of 
such instruction, and the ends to be attained were 
briefly outlined in chapter II. It remains to add here 
some suggestions of a practical character. 

Absolute Authority Relaxed. — The efficiency of moral 
instruction and of will-training, after the child has 
reached such a degree of development that the judg- 
ment begins to act with some degree of freedom and 
reliability, and appeals can be made to conscience with 
a fair measure of success, depends very largely upon 
wisely relaxing the demands of absolute authority and 
leaving the child more liberty for self-direction. This 
process involves something of danger and must be 
conducted with a careful regard for times and circum- 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 235 

stances. At first the child must be left to determine 
for himself under favorable conditions, must not be 
exposed to too strong temptations and allurements 
toward the wrong, and must not be compelled to as- 
sume a heavy responsibility by his decisions. Nor 
should the standard of conduct, at this period, be too 
severe and exacting ; morality is, to some extent, rela- 
tive, not precisely the same for the ignorant and the 
well-instructed, for the strong and the weak of purpose 
and will, for the child and the man. Failures and mis- 
takes should be dealt with leniently and in the spirit of 
kindness, in such a way as to excite courage and hope 
rather than discouragement and despair. A skilful use 
should be made of motives adapted to the general char- 
acter and condition of the child and to his immediate 
needs. 

Injustice Done. — Injustice is very often done to chil- 
dren in the early period of school-life, as well as in the 
home, by magnifying the moral turpitude of their con- 
duct. Offences, springing from thoughtlessness or care- 
lessness, are attributed to deliberate evil intention and 
to wilful perversity of disposition. Probably the offence 
most frequently imputed to them unjustly is lying. It 
is assumed, apparently, that they comprehend the rela- 
tion which should exist between things and words, be- 
tween ideas and expression, as clearly and in the same 
way as the parent or the teacher. One with even a 
limited knowledge of the workings and contents of 
children's minds must have discovered that, at some 
stages of development they make very little distinction 
between what they actually see and hear and what they 
think or imagine ; the thing imagined is as real to them 
as the thing seen or heard, and is described with as 



236 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

much freedom and with no idea of deception. The 
essential element of lying is not present in such cases, 
and the charge of falsehood should not be hastily made. 
The duty of the teacher is to lead the pupil to discover, 
by examples and illustrations, the real nature of truth 
and truthfulness, the distinction between things actually 
perceived and things merely imagined, and the great 
trouble and inconvenience which result from confusing 
these and from describing what one has imagined as if 
it were a reality. Without doubt lying is very common 
among children, but it is not by any means so universal 
as some writers affirm. It is easy, by unwise manage- 
ment, to create a habit of lying in almost any child. 

Children are quick to feel injustice and to resent it; 
and if they come to feel that they are charged by the 
teacher with falsehood or any other fault without good 
reason, and are treated as guilty when conscious of no 
intentional wrong-doing, the power of the teacher over 
them for good is weakened, if not entirely destroyed. 
Probably, human nature being what it is, mistakes in 
dealing with children are unavoidable, but it is better, 
if mistakes are made, that they be in the direction of 
mercy and charity rather than in the opposition direc- 
tion. It is better to trust a pupil when he deceives than 
to distrust him when he is honest and sincere. 

Reasons for Conduct. — In relaxing the demands of 
absolute authority, and leaving the pupil to choose for 
himself and to determine right and wrong by his own 
judgment, he must, of necessity, adopt some criterion 
or standard by which his judgment shall be guided. 
Always and everywhere, and in respect to all matters 
concerning which it is called upon to make conclusions, 
the judgment must have a standard of some sort, either 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 237 

formally expressed or tacitly understood, with which to 
compare whatever it has to consider. If the child is 
asked or expected to judge of the right or wrong of his 
conduct in some particular case, he must have in mind 
a pretty distinct idea of the kind of conduct which 
ought to be pursued in such a case; this idea, or ideal 
conduct, constitutes the standard with which he com- 
pares, and by which he is guided in his decision. Con- 
duct will sometimes concern mainly or exclusively the 
individual pupil himself, sometimes chiefly the parents 
and the home, sometimes companions and the school, 
at other times the community generally, and the State. 
In each case a standard will be required or an intelligent 
determination cannot be reached. 

Standards of Conduct. — It is an important part of the 
teacher's work to aid the pupil to form gradually and 
intelligently correct standards for his behavior in all the 
various relations in which he must act. These several 
standards, combined and harmonized, constitute the 
moral law of the child ; whatever conforms to this law 
is right, whatever violates this law is wrong, in his 
estimation. As the process of moral development 
progresses, this law will, from time to time, undergo 
modification ; it will be made more exacting in its re- 
quirements, and will embrace more of the life and con- 
duct in its scope. Many things which at an earlier 
period seemed to possess no moral qualities will, one 
by one, be brought within the province of the law, and 
be subjected to the searching scrutiny of the moral 
judgment and to the imperative demands of conscience. 

The effort of the teacher should be to lead the pupil, 
as soon as possible, to discover that his rules of con- 
duct, his moral law, is something above and beyond his 



238 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

own personal pleasure and advantage, higher than the 
mere will of parent or teacher, or the customs of society; 
to discover that the requirements of the law are right 
and just in themselves, and, for this reason alone, should 
be regarded and obeyed. As instruction and develop- 
ment go on, the conviction becomes finally fixed in the 
mind that the fundamental laws of conduct are intuitive, 
self-evident truths, which only need to be clearly set 
forth and to be fully comprehended in order to be 
accepted as binding upon all human beings. In con- 
nection with this conviction, the feeling arises spon- 
taneously in the soul that obedience should be rendered 
to these laws. 

Basis for Instruction. — Thus a sufficient basis for 
necessary moral instruction is found in the intuitions 
of the soul itself, and the demand for obedience is re- 
enforced effectively by an appeal to the judgment and 
conscience. The feeling of obligation, that is, the feel- 
ing that one ought to do, or not to do, is at once 
recognized by all normally constituted minds without 
hesitation or argument. But unfortunately, on account 
of the strong egoistic element and the clamorous de- 
mands of appetite and passion in the early period of 
life, a recognition of right and duty is not always fol- 
lowed by conduct in harmony with their claims. It 
will be allowable, therefore, to appeal, with caution and 
care, and according to the degree of development, to 
the motive of utility, to the advantages and benefits 
resulting from right doing to the individual himself, to his 
friends and associates, to the community generally, and to 
all men everywhere. The appeal is to this motive when 
the pupil is urged to be industrious and studious be- 
cause he can thereby acquire wealth, secure a better 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 239 

position in society, and gain for himself the means and 
opportunities for gratifying his desires generally. 

Fundamental Principles. — The most important of the 
intuitive fundamental principles of morality just referred 
to, and from which specific rules for conduct in all 
human relations may be drawn, are: (1) the principle 
of justice, which requires that to every man shall be 
given whatever belongs to him, whatever he can claim 
by any law of nature or of society. These claims are 
his rights, and are the measure of the duties which 
others owe him. Whatever a man can justly claim of 
me, duty requires me to give him. (2) The principle 
of beneficence and good-will, which requires one to do 
good to all men, especially to those in need, as he has 
opportunity and means. (3) The principle of mercy 
and forgiveness which requires one to deal mercifully 
with those who have wronged him, to forgive injuries, 
and generally to do to others as he would have them, 
under like circumstances, do to him. These principles 
will commend themselves to every man's conscience, 
even though he may hesitate to accept them as intuitive 
propositions. They can easily be defended and sup- 
ported on the ground of utility alone, and they are also 
in harmony with the teachings of revelation. 

General Method of Teaching. — The wise teacher will 
not commence with formal statements of these prin- 
ciples to young children. These are general and 
abstract, while children can be interested only in the 
individual and concrete. Consequently the teacher in 
the primary grades will seek to lead pupils to discover 
a rule of right conduct for some particular relation in 
which they may be placed, by means of specific and 
individual examples of good conduct in a similar rela- 



240 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

tion, or in a relation which involves essentially the same 
conditions and the same material for exercising the 
judgment and exciting the sensibilities. Advanced 
pupils, after much instruction through individual illus- 
trations of the conduct appropriate to various relations 
in the home, the school, and elsewhere, and after many 
exercises in solving moral problems adapted to their 
degree of development, will of their own accord, and 
almost unconsciously, grasp and adopt these principles 
as concise expressions of general laws embracing a 
great number of particular cases. With much respect 
for those who entertain opposite views, I cannot avoid 
the conclusion that the moral instruction of advanced 
pupils should result in leading them to discover such 
principles and to fix them thoroughly in mind. This 
will not involve the useless discussion of abstract meta- 
physical questions concerning the ultimate basis of 
moral distinctions and the grounds of human respon- 
sibility. 

More Specific Illustrations of Method. — Space will not 
permit a more extended discussion of this part of the 
subject. The remainder of the chapter will consist 
mainly of illustrative examples designed to suggest 
practical methods of teaching moral lessons. 

First Moral Lessons. — The first duty of the teacher 
in the work of moral education and will-training is to 
make the ordinary routine of the school, all its regula- 
tions and requirements, its methods of instruction and 
government, its very atmosphere, contribute directly to 
the formation of certain habits which involve the ele- 
ments of morality and virtue, and have much to do with 
the full development of a desirable character. The 
school should, without special lessons or special effort, 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 241 

teach the virtues of voluntary and cheerful obedience 
to rightful authority, of regularity and punctuality in 
meeting all engagements and duties of every kind, of 
order and neatness in dress, in personal appearance, in 
the performance of allotted tasks, indeed in everything, 
of industry and economy in the use of time, of mate- 
rials, and of opportunities ; and the more altruistic vir- 
tues of kindness, courtesy, and politeness. The bring- 
ing together upon terms of perfect equality of children 
of all possible social conditions; the placing of these 
side by side in the class, each depending for his rank 
and standing in the school upon his own ability and 
his own merits, neither asking nor expecting favor on 
account of social position, or of nationality, or of politi- 
cal or religious faith, — all this teaches silently but most 
thoroughly some of the most needed moral lessons in 
sociology and political science, such as the equality of 
rights and privileges, mutual respect and forbearance, 
the recognition of a common humanity, notwithstanding 
the great diversity of external environments, and the 
inequality of the distribution of the gifts of fortune. 
These and other kindred virtues should be made visible 
to the pupil and inwrought into his soul by being em- 
bodied and represented in the person of the teacher 
and in the organization and administration of the 
school. The teacher and the school thus become per- 
petual, silent and yet eloquent object-lessons, appeal- 
ing to the intellect, the heart, and the will of pupils. 
The most effective training of the will is, at the same 
time, secured by such appeals as circumstances may 
require to the highest motives children can appreciate, 
and by such demands in respect to study and conduct 
as will compel continuous and protracted, but not too 

16 



242 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

exhausting, application of the mental activities to- one 
subject and in one direction. 

Second Source of Moral Lessons. — Most branches of 
study pursued in the schools afford means and oppor- 
tunities for moral lessons and moral instruction, either 
direct or indirect. Biography and history are especially 
full of the richest material for the most effective ethical 
teaching, all the more effective because incidental and 
informal. They present examples of the nobility of true 
manhood, of the value and power of exalted character, 
of the worth of true courage, integrity, honor, and truth- 
fulness, of the beauty of unselfishness, of sacrifice of self 
for others, of patriotism and devotion to the interests of 
one's country, examples indeed of all the virtues which 
adorn human nature. These studies offer the very high- 
est incentives to right conduct and to the formation of 
right character. 

Geography is closely related to history, and, when 
taught by the best method, supplies abundant material 
for moral lessons which concern men as members of a 
great social and industrial organism. It shows the 
mutual dependence of mankind, the pleasure to be de- 
rived from friendly intercourse, the great advantages 
resulting from the exchange of productions, the bene- 
ficial effects of travel and of other means by which men 
come into more intimate acquaintance with each other. 
While this study does not diminish patriotism, it greatly 
increases the feeling of philanthropy; while it does not 
lessen the love of one's own country and one's own coun- 
trymen, it tends to kindle in the soul a genuine respect 
and regard for the inhabitants of other countries. Since 
the possibility of friendly and profitable intercourse be- 
tween individuals or nations depends upon the possession 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 243 

and exercise of such virtues as truthfulness, honesty, 
honor, forbearance, self-restraint, courtesy, and mutual 
respect, trust, and confidence, the study of geography 
furnishes occasions for lessons to inculcate these most 
desirable traits of character. 

Geography combined with history may afford occa- 
sions for teaching other and higher lessons in the altru- 
istic virtues. A knowledge of the moral degradation of 
.the people of some countries affords the best possible 
opportunity for exciting the feelings of benevolence, 
charity, and general good-will, and for kindling the desire 
to improve their unfortunate condition. A knowledge 
of the social and political injustice under which some 
peoples are suffering gives occasion to call attention to 
the value of institutions which secure us against such 
injustice, and to arouse the sentiments of pity, sym- 
pathy, and compassion for the oppressed, and of a just 
indignation towards the oppressors. 

Only very brief reference can be made to the moral 
lessons which other branches of study will suggest. Lan- 
guage and literature, including the matter of reading, 
will afford material scarcely less valuable than that fur- 
nished by history. Mathematics teaches especially the 
great value of settled and permanent principles of con- 
duct and procedure, and of adhering to such principles 
even though they may sometimes appear to be leading 
to undesirable conclusions. The importance of entire 
accuracy in form as well as in substance, in the small as 
well as in the great, is inculcated in the most practical 
way. The natural and physical sciences, being much 
concerned with observation and experiment and with 
the discovery of things hidden from the careless and 
heedless student, teach the moral virtues of patience, of 



244 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

continued attention, of earnest seeking for the truth, of 
self-restraint, of impartiality and accuracy in judging, 
of truthfulness in reporting and describing, of readiness 
to accept new truths and to abandon old theories and 
beliefs when proved to be false. More than most other 
branches of study, these sciences, dealing as they do with 
nature, have an aesthetic side. They open the mind to 
an appreciation and love of the beautiful, to an admira- 
tion and reverence for the wisdom and skill of the Author, 
of nature, and thus help to develop some of the highest 
and purest characteristics of the soul. 

It is evident from these illustrations that while the 
ordinary work of the school does not necessarily include, 
to any appreciable extent, moral education and training, 
it does afford natural and abundant opportunities for the 
most productive instruction and training in practical 
ethics. A large part of the best material for such in- 
struction is found without going beyond the acknowl- 
edged province of the school, or outside the prescribed 
studies and text-books. 

Other Sources of Moral Lessons. — - Moral lessons may 
be taught, moral principles may be inculcated, and prac- 
tical rules for conduct may be impressed upon children 
by means of stories, anecdotes, and simple narratives of 
various kinds adapted to the degree of development, to 
the immediate conditions, and to the special ends to be 
attained. Several somewhat elaborate schemes of this 
sort have been published, all of them containing much 
valuable matter and many suggestions which teachers 
will find profit in adopting and adapting to their own 
peculiar needs and circumstances. The most common 
order of procedure recommended is to commence with 
Fairy Tales, following these with Fables, and then mak- 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 245 

ing use of stories selected from the Bible, from old Greek 
writers, and from some modern authors. These all fur- 
nish valuable material, but there is no psychological or 
other satisfactory reason for beginning with any one 
particular class of tales or stories rather than another. 
The only requirements are that the story shall be within 
the comprehension of the child, shall be of interest to 
him, shall bring out clearly and forcibly the particular 
lesson or truth which is to be taught, and shall not need 
to be interpreted and explained in order to elucidate the 
moral, so-called. The stories will furnish subject-matter 
for conversation between teacher and pupils, in which the 
moral principle taught should be applied to present con- 
ditions, present relations and duties. The application, 
however, should be made by the pupils rather than by 
the teacher. As a general rule it is better that the story 
should illustrate a virtue to be imitated rather than a 
vice to be shunned. This general principle, however, 
will not exclude fables and stories which illustrate the 
hatefulness and foolishness of such vices as deception, 
ingratitude, envy, jealousy, and others to which children 
are especially exposed. The fables of the " Shepherd 
Boy and the Wolf," the " Grasshopper and the Bee," and 
" Old Dog Tray " are of this kind. 

Lessons in Maxims. — The lessons taught by the fables 
and stories should generally be embodied in brief and 
pithy maxims which may be easily committed to mem- 
ory and readily recalled. The form which such maxims 
shall take, may, in most cases, be left to the taste of the 
teacher or to the preference of the pupils. The les- 
sons of the fables just mentioned may, for example, be 
summed up in " A liar is not believed even when he 
tells the truth ; " "A man is judged by the company 



246 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

he keeps ; " and " Idleness is the mother of want ; " or 
other equally good forms may be adopted. 

With Advanced Pupils. — The instruction of young 
children should be quite informal, and should not be 
confined to any special, pre-arranged order. The lesson 
for the day should usually be selected with reference to 
conditions existing at the time, to incidents which have 
occurred, and to the immediate needs of the school. In 
teaching more advanced pupils, pupils in the grammar 
and high school grades, it will be best to adopt and follow 
a regular order of topics, though not an order which 
cannot be departed from if circumstances suggest the 
desirableness of a change. No one particular order can 
be recommended ; the same order will not be best for 
all schools, nor for any one school at all times. At one 
time a series of lessons maybe arranged upon the duties 
included under the head of justice, at another time those 
included under the head of benevolence and charity, or 
under the head of mercy and forgiveness. Lessons may 
be taught upon duties to one's self, to the home, to the 
school, to associates, to the community, and to the 
State. 

The moral lesson should not be ordinarily assigned 
to a definite time in. the day nor to a fixed place on the 
program. Its value depends almost entirely upon its 
adaptation to the time and the circumstances. A time 
should be selected for such a lesson when the minds of 
pupils are open for the reception of the special truth 
which is to be presented ; the manner of presentation 
should be natural, spontaneous, and such as to show 
that it is determined by present conditions and needs. 
Care must always be taken that the moral lesson does 
not degenerate into the mere formal and perfunctory 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 247 

teaching of set rules of conduct to be held in memory, 
rather than of living principles to be planted as good 
seed in the soul itself. 

Classes of Actions. — To the young child a large part 
of his conduct appears to have no moral quality; the 
idea of right and wrong is not associated with it; it is 
not praiseworthy or blameworthy. As the process of 
moral development and instruction goes on, more and 
more of this neutral conduct comes to take on an ethi- 
cal coloring, and is assigned to a place among the pos- 
itively good or bad, until finally very little remains to 
which moral qualities are not attached. It is some- 
times profitable, in discussing questions of morals and 
conduct with advanced pupils to suppose acts and states 
of mind to be separated into three divisions: (1) those 
which in their very nature are right always and every- 
where ; (2) those which in their very nature are wrong 
always and everywhere. Leaving aside questions of 
mere casuistry, the discussion of which is usually both 
unnecessary and unprofitable, a large number of things 
can be grouped into these two divisions concerning 
the character of which there will be no differences of 
opinion among intelligent people. -Every one will place 
in the first division obedience to legitimate authority 
properly exercised, truthfulness in word and act, honesty 
and integrity in business and in all relations of life, a. 
careful performance of all domestic, social, and civic 
duties, purity of thought, of speech, and of life, feelings 
of gratitude, kindness, and good-will. These and many 
other things of similar nature are universally recognized 
as right and binding upon men. 

Among the things which will, by common consent, 
be grouped in the second division, are disobedience to 



248 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

rightful authority, stealing, lying, dishonesty and decep- 
tion by whatever names disguised, ingratitude, envy, 
jealousy, hatred, revenge, and many other things of 
like character. (3) Things which, in themselves con- 
sidered, appear to possess no definite moral qualities ; 
they seem to have the hue of indifference and neu- 
trality. One is not praised for doing them, nor blamed 
for leaving them undone. It is conceded that many of 
our daily actions, both in business and pleasure, con- 
sidered by themselves apart from intentions, purposes, 
conditions, and surroundings, are of this sort. It is in 
relation to the right and wrong of these that wide differ- 
ences of judgment are found among persons of equal 
intelligence and of equal moral excellence ; and it is in 
respect to these that angry disputes frequently arise, 
that ill temper is exhibited, and that harsh and un- 
charitable judgments are pronounced. The reasons for 
such differences are usually found in the early home 
instruction and training, and in the immediate social 
and religious environment. Children naturally regard 
the domestic and social habits, customs, and practices 
of their own parents and near friends- as right and 
proper. Consequently in estimating character and con- 
duct it is frequently necessary to put aside, as much as 
possible, preconceived notions and pet theories and to 
suppose one's self in the place of another with his 
environment, education, and habits. The effort to do 
this will beget charity, mutual respect and forbearance, 
and remove the most serious obstacles in the way of 
harmony of judgment and action. 

Basis of Judgment as to Things in the Third Division. — 
A little careful examination makes it evident that no 
one action of an intelligent and responsible being can 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 249 

stand apart from all other acts. It has necessary rela- 
tions to other acts and to other actors. It has ante- 
cedents and consequents. It must be estimated and 
weighed in connection with its relations, its surround- 
ings, its causes, its purposes and results. Taken thus 
it cannot fail to assume moral qualities and to be worthy 
of praise or censure, and the actor must incur merit or 
demerit. 

If these statements are admitted to be correct, a few 
obvious considerations will enable us to determine 
whether we ought or ought not to do many things 
which appear, at first sight, to be neutral in their 
character. These considerations may be stated very 
briefly. 

(1) Things of this nature should be avoided if they 
would occupy time which belongs to other and regular 
duties. 

(2) They should be avoided, even if they do not 
trespass directly upon time belonging to other em- 
ployments, if they so exhaust strength and energy that 
we are unable to perform our legitimate work in the 
best way. 

(3) Things morally indifferent should generally be 
shunned if they are in fact or in public estimation very 
closely connected with other things which are obviously 
evil in their nature and influence. The same rule will 
apply to persons as well as things. A man whose inti- 
mate associates are bad is not a desirable or safe com- 
panion, even though he himself may appear to be of 
good character. Everything which leads toward evil 
should be avoided. 

(4) Employments and amusements, not in them- 
selves positively bad, should be avoided if they are 



2 SO A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

calculated to develop and cultivate the lower and baser 
rather than the higher and nobler elements of one's 
nature. Every person is morally bound to make the 
best possible of himself and of all his powers, both for 
his own sake and for the sake of others. 

(5) It is, under ordinary circumstances, expedient 
and- wise to avoid things which we ourselves regard as 
morally indifferent, if the great majority of intelligent 
people with whom we are associated believe these things 
wrong in themselves or evil in their tendencies. It is 
unnecessary here to indicate the obvious and necessary 
limitations to this general rule. 

(6) The altruistic law of benevolence and charity, if 
not the law of justice, requires us to avoid any manner 
of life, or any course of conduct, which will be likely to 
lead others into evil by force of our example. This law, 
also, has obvious limitations, but it will not often be 
necessary to inquire for these in school life or even in 
the outside world. It will be profitable occasionally to 
allow, and even to encourage, advanced pupils to discuss 
these general laws and to make application of them to 
their own conduct, to the conduct of historical charac- 
ters, and to conduct which comes under their observation 
in business and in other relations of daily life. 

Results Depend upon Motives. — The efficiency and 
practical value of moral instruction in the school as else- 
where will depend chiefly upon the creation in the soul 
of a permanent disposition to choose and pursue the 
right ; that is, upon training the will to act habitually 
and uniformly in harmony with the impulse of the high- 
est motives. In the entire education of the child, intel- 
lectual as well as moral, a constant effort should be made 
to lead him to comprehend and appreciate the force 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 25 I 

of higher and still higher motives. The nature of the 
motive to which appeal is made should be elevated as 
development and intelligence advance. Space will not 
permit an extended and critical discussion of motives ; 
a few suggestions only can be offered upon this topic. 

Motives can be conveniently arranged into a few reg- 
ularly ascending series, up which the child may be led 
step by step with greater or less rapidity according to 
his progress in development and according to surround- 
ing conditions. 

(1) First Series. — The instinctive desire for the 
pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction resulting from the 
consciousness of meriting and receiving approval, com- 
mendation, esteem, etc. This, as already stated, is 
probably the first motive to the influence of which the 
child is susceptible. This series begins with the desire 
for the approval and esteem of parents, and rises gradu- 
ally till it reaches the desire for the approval of one's 
own conscience, of the good and noble, and finally of the 
Supreme Being, the Source of all life and of all good. 

(2) Second Series. — The desire for the satisfaction 
and enjoyment resulting from the legitimate and proper 
exercise of one's own powers. This series begins with 
the desire for the pleasure which comes from the appro- 
priate exercise of the bodily powers, rises to a love for 
the enjoyment which results from the exercise of the 
various forms of intellectual activity and of the sensi- 
bilities, and finally reaches a desire for the profound 
satisfaction which attends the right exercise of the moral 
and spiritual activities, the highest activities of which the 
human being is capable. 

(3) Third Series. — The desire for the satisfaction and 
enjoyment resulting from possession and use. This series 



252 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

begins with the pleasure which the child experiences from 
the possession and use of toys and playthings, and rises 
till it embraces the satisfaction resulting from the pos- 
session of esteem, power, wealth, knowledge, and the 
still deeper satisfaction attending the possession of true 
wisdom, of excellency of personal character, of full and 
complete development of the whole being, and of like- 
ness to the perfect ideal of true Manhood. This series 
may be regarded as embracing the enjoyment of " the 
pleasures of hope," of anticipation, as well as of actual 
possession. 

The Highest Motive. — The highest motive to which 
ordinary human nature is susceptible is a desire for the 
profound satisfaction which attends the doing of right 
simply because it is right, or the doing of duty just be- 
cause it is duty; for the two things are essentially one 
and the same. The effort should be to aid the pupil to 
reach this high attainment, and to train the will to act 
constantly from this grand motive. This state of soul, 
in which the idea of duty is paramount, should finally 
grow into another and still higher condition, in which 
there is no conscious thought of duty, 'but only a feel- 
ing of intense delight in right doing. This is the state 
of mind indicated by the words " I delight to do Thy 
will," and, " It is my meat to do the will of Him that 
sent me." This state of mind can be attained only when 
all conflict of desires ceases, and when desire and dis- 
position come into entire harmony with each other and 
into complete agreement with the conclusions of an intel- 
ligent moral judgment. 



MORAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING. 2$$ 



FOR READING AND REFERENCE. 

Adler's Moral Instruction of Children. 
Hyde's Practical Ethics. 
Everett's Ethics for Young People. 
Seelye's Duty : A Book for Schools. 
Crilman and Jackson's Conduct as a Fine Art. 
Putnam's Elementary Psychology, chapters xiii. and xiv. 
Pedagogical Seminary, vol. ii. p. 72 : Moral Education 
and Will Training. 

Janet's Elements of Morals. 

Compayre's L'Evolution de L'Enfant, chapitre xiii. 

Bowne's Introduction to the Study of Ethics. 

Parker's Talks on Pedagogics, chapter xiv. 

Morgan, T. J., Studies in Pedagogy, chapters vi. and viii. 

Robinson's Principles and Practice of Morality. 



CHAPTER XII. 

PERSONALITY IN THE TEACHER. 

Three Things necessary. — Three things are necessary 
to the greatest efficiency of the work of the teacher. 

The First. First, a thorough knowledge of the 
branches to be taught. This knowledge should extend 
far beyond the limits which his pupils are expected to 
reach while under his instruction. He should know 
much more than he is required to teach of all subjects 
embraced in the curriculum of school studies. The 
more he has of what is called culture, the better. 

This important requisite of the teacher's outfit is 
strongly emphasized in all higher institutions of learn- 
ing. Not seldom it is allowed to outweigh all other 
considerations, especially in the selection of instructors 
for special departments. It is readily conceded that 
due regard must be had for this in the choice of 
teachers for the lower schools, even for the primary 
grades, but it should never be made the sole test of 
fitness. 

The Second. The second thing necessary on the part 
of the teacher is a knowledge of the fundamental prin- 
ciples of the science of education and of the application 
of these principles to methods of teaching. This requi- 
site for the teacher's calling is likely to be sufficiently 
insisted on by normal schools and other institutions of 



PERSONALITY IN THE TEACHER. 255 

similar character. Its importance will not be questioned 
by any one familiar with the methods and devices often 
employed, especially in elementary schools. Yet it 
must be admitted that the practical value of particular 
methods may be greatly over-estimated, and that in- 
struction in these may be carried to such an extreme as 
to destroy all individuality and to reduce the teacher 
very nearly to the position of an " organ-grinder." 

Other things being equal, a teacher instructed in 
principles and trained in methods is much to be pre- 
ferred' to one who has merely a knowledge of the sub- 
ject-matter to be taught, and a fair degree of general 
culture. When possible both should be combined, but 
even the possession of both these requisites, essential as 
they are, does not fit one to do the very best work in 
the school-room. Something more is needed. 

The Third. The third requisite in the order adopted, 
though first in importance, is genuine personality. The 
term personality as here employed includes everything 
which can be expressed by the words individuality and 
character, if any one prefers these words. Most espe- 
cially personality is used to denote the influence, force, 
or power, which one exerts, or may exert, in conse- 
quence of his individuality. It is the result of individu- 
ality rather than mere individuality alone. This meaning 
agrees with common usage ; we generally speak of per- 
sonal responsibility, personal influence, and so on, in- 
stead of individual responsibility and influence. 

W. H. Payne. — These three elements which, com- 
bined, constitute the substance of the teacher's prepa- 
ration for his high office, and their relative importance, 
are well described by Dr. W. H. Payne, from whose 
remarks I make selections. He says, — 



256 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

" It is plain that the very first requisite of the teacher is a 
competent knowledge of subjects. In our day there is such 
insistence on method, as distinguished from scholarship, that 
we are in danger of underestimating the importance of high 
scholastic attainments. In the earlier day scholarship was 
everything, method almost nothing; and the natural recoil 
from this error has induced an exaggerated belief in method 
as some substitute for scholarship. 

" After scholarship, the thing of next importance is method. 
Two teachers of equal attainments may stand to each other in 
real force as ten to one, the difference being due to high and 
low qualities of method. I use this term to cover all the 
processes of the school-room, — organization, government, and 
instruction. 

"So far we have been dealing with the matter and the 
method of the teacher's outfit, — the body, so to speak, of his 
professional self. But this body must be animated and in- 
spired by a spirit. I am now speaking of something which 
cannot be articulately described, but of something of which 
we are all conscious when we think of a real teacher and his 
work. Grant to the painter his palette, his brushes, his paints, 
and the formal rules of his art, but with only these things he 
is merely a mechanic. What will transform this mechanic 
into an artist? Fair ideals, a divine sense of beauty, and a 
conception of the possibilities of art. It is only under the 
domination of this spirit that the artist becomes a creator. 
Now, what I wish to say is that by some means a spirit akin 
to this must be infused into a body of scholars, in order that 
they may become teachers. There must be some ideal to 
serve as the goal of one's effort ; some sense of the sacredness 
and grandeur of the teaching office, and a conception of what 
is possible through the resources of the teacher's art. This 
change of spirit and of purpose is so marked that sometimes, 
in speaking of it, I have ventured to call it conversion. . . . 



PERSONALITY IN THE TEACHER, 2$7 

Matter, method, and spirit, these are the three things without 
which no work in teaching even of tolerable excellence, can 
be done. They must accompany all true teaching ; and while 
they form the minimum of one's professional preparation, they 
are the permanent endowment of the most accomplished 
teacher. Other elements may be added, but these are 
constant." 

This spirit is an essential part of the teacher's per- 
sonality, an intangible something which gives color and 
tone to his life, direction to his effort, and makes his 
attainments peculiarly his own, and instruments by 
which he accomplishes, in his own way, a work which, 
in its details, no other person can do. 

D. P. Page. — Speaking of the personal spirit of the 
true teacher, Mr. Page, in his incomparable book, itself 
the product and embodiment of such a spirit, says : — 

" I would by no means undervalue that degree of natural 
talent, of mental power, which all justly consider so desirable 
in the candidate for the teacher's office. But the true spirit 
of the teacher, a spirit that seeks not alone pecuniary emolu- 
ment, but desires to be in the highest degree useful to those 
who are taught ; a spirit that elevates above everything else 
the nature and capabilities of the human soul, and that 
trembles under the responsibility of attempting to be its edu- 
cator ; a spirit that looks upon gold as the contemptible dross 
of earth, when compared with that imperishable gem which is 
to be polished and brought out into heaven's light to shine 
forever; a spirit that scorns all the rewards of earth, and 
seeks that highest of all rewards, an approving conscience and 
an approving God; a spirit that earnestly inquires what is 
right, and dreads to do what is wrong; a spirit that can 
recognize and reverence the handiwork of God in every child, 
and that burns with the desire to be instrumental in training 

17 



258 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

it to the highest attainment of which it is capable, — such a 
spirit is the first thing to be sought by the teacher, and without 
it the highest talent cannot make him truly excellent in his 
profession." 

Dr. Arnold. — In this connection the words of Dr. 
Arnold, the great master and teacher of Rugby, are 
peculiarly appropriate. In writing of the qualifications 
of a teacher whom he wished to employ, he said, — 

" What I want is a man who is a Christian and a gentleman, 
an active man, and one who has common- sense and under- 
stands boys. I do not so much care for scholarship, as he 
will have immediately under him the lowest form [class] in 
the school; but yet, on second thought, I do care about it 
very much, because his pupils may be in the highest forms 
[classes] ; and besides, I think that even the elements are 
best taught by a man who has a thorough knowledge of the 
matter. However, if one must give way, I prefer activity of 
mind and an interest in his work to high scholarship ; for the 
one may be acquired far more easily than the other. . . . The 
qualifications which I deem essential to the due performance 
of a master's duties here may in brief be expressed as the 
spirit of a Christian and a gentleman, ... he should study 
things ' lovely and of good report ' ; that is, he should be 
public- spirited, liberal, and enter heartily into the interests, 
honor, and general respectability and distinction of the society 
which he has joined." 

It is by means of his individuality and personality 
that the teacher comes into intimate relationship with 
his pupils, touching and warming by his own spirit, by 
his real self, the spirit, the real self, of the scholar. 
The lack of such contact of heart with heart, of life with 
life, is one of the most serious defects of the school 
systems and school arrangements of our time. 



PERSONALITY IN THE TEACHER, 259 

A College President. — A distinguished college presi- 
dent, a man of long experience and much observation, 
writes : — 

" I cannot help feeling in view of my own college course, 
and of all that I have seen since then, that the great defect 
of the past and the present education lies in the want of per- 
sonal and individual intercourse between the teacher and his 
pupil — immediate contact of the mind of the former with the 
mind of the latter — in such a degree as is to be desired for 
the pupil's highest inspiration. Our system of education, 
which has been growing in popularity of late in all our higher 
institutions of learning, places the student far too much in a 
kind of great machine, where his individuality is lost in the 
working of the machinery. It is the mind of the man which 
we need to develop, and to this end something more than 
text-books and examinations are necessary." 

Another College President. — Another eminent presi- 
dent of a great university, in writing of his early educa- 
tion, says of one of the schools in which he studied : 

" In this private school, as in district schools, there was 
little attempt at classification ; in teaching arithmetic, algebra, 
and surveying, none at all. Each pupil advanced as rapidly 
as he could. The teacher came round at least twice in the 
day to inspect the work done on the slate, to ask explanations, 
and to remove difficulties. The instruction was thus emphati- 
cally personal. The teacher reached each one of us individu- 
ally, and adapted his instruction to our respective needs and 
peculiarities. ... Is it so clear as some think that the classi- 
fication of students, however carefully arranged, yields better 
results than this personal method of instruction ? Of course, 
this personal method is possible only where the number of 
pupils is small." 



26o A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Speaking of a particular teacher, he continues : — 

" Contact with this inspiring teacher formed an epoch in 
my intellectual life, as in that of many other boys. . . . There 
was such a glow of enthusiasm in the instructor and in the 
class, there was such delight in the tension in which we were 
kept by the daily exercises, that no task seemed too great to 
be encountered." 

In describing the character of another eminent in- 
structor, after speaking of certain intellectual traits, he 
goes on to say : — 

" There was, too, beyond all this, a certain power of personal 
presence, a force of character, a moral strength, which lent a 
tremendous weight to even his commonest words. I have met 
in my day not a few distinguished men ; but I recall none 
who have so impressed me with the power of personality, none 
who have uttered so many wise words which I recall every 
week to my advantage and help in the duties of my daily 
life." 

Value of the Teacher. — The one great truth empha- 
sized in these quotations is that the teacher is 
the essential factor in the school, arid that the most 
essential factor in the teacher is personality and char- 
acter. This truth needs now, perhaps more than ever 
before, to be emphasized. In the estimation of not a 
few who have to do with educational affairs, grand 
buildings, elegant furniture, costly apparatus, and great 
libraries constitute the school. With others, improved 
courses of studies, carefully arranged programs, exact 
grading and classification, and timely promotions are of 
almost supreme importance. No practical teacher will 
underestimate the value of these things ; they are ex- 
ceedingly desirable. But they are not the school; 



PERSONALITY IN THE TEACHER. 26 1 

they may all exist, and the school, so-called, may be 
worthless. The old and trite saying, " As is the 
teacher so is the school," has in it a large measure of 
truth. 

Superintendent Howland. — Superintendent Howland, 
in his " Hints to Teachers," presents an estimate of the 
value of the personal influence of the true teacher 
based upon his long observation in the schools of a 
great city. He says : — 

" As all roads lead to Rome, so from whatever point or on 
what line soever I proceed, my thought always brings me at 
last to the teacher, on whose fitness and fidelity the efficiency 
of all these forces depends. First of all her qualifications is 
that wholesome personal influence, still unexplained by the 
philosopher, but read by the veriest child, — that something 
which embraces the will of the new-comer, makes it sub- 
servient to her desire, and leads him unconsciously along the 
path of duty, and brings him into harmony with the conditions 
of the school-room. It inspires him with a self-respect and 
pride in his school, and encourages him to the performance of 
otherwise irksome tasks. . . . Under her guidance labor be- 
comes a pleasure, and the irksomeness of restraint takes on 
the garb of joyous compliance with the wishes of a trusted 
guide. Harshness and severity are unknown, because un- 
needed ; censure has changed to loved counsel ; and willing, 
earnest effort, little by little, takes the place of forced and 
unfruitful toil." 

E. E. White. — The influence of the personality and 
character of the teacher in the control of the school is 
well described by Dr. White in his " School Manage- 
ment." He says : — 

" The most vital element of governing power in a positive 
moral character and life. We thus come back in our 



262 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

analysis to the one essential fact of the school, the teacher ; 
and we reach the one essential fact in the teacher, character. 
Through all the methods and measures of the school must run 
the vitalizing influence of the teacher's inner life. This is the 
one element of power that can touch the heart and conscience 
of pupils with an inspiring inner influence that makes outer 
control unnecessary. It is a mistake to suppose that moral 
influence and character can be divorced. We might as well 
attempt to separate the stream from the fountain. ... If the 
writer had the power of making one law for the governing of 
American schools, and only one, and this in a single sentence, 
— a law to be written over every school-room door, — he 
would have little difficulty in determining what it should be. 
It would be in about these words : No man or woman shall 
enter here as a teacher whose character and life are not fit 
models for the young to copy." 

Personality put forth. — The teacher, like every other 
individual, puts forth the influence and power of his 
personality both consciously and purposely and also 
unconsciously and without deliberate intention. Per- 
sonality is spontaneously, but still consciously exercised 
in the work of instruction. Fundamental principles of 
education and teaching are the same always and every- 
where, in all classes and in all grades of schools. But 
the teacher's individuality and personality will deter- 
mine the manner in which these shall be applied in 
any particular case. When teaching the same subject, 
the lesson while presented by one teacher will not 
necessarily be precisely the same in form, though it 
maybe in substance, as that of another teacher; the 
analysis prepared by the one may differ from that pre- 
pared by the other, and still there -may be no violation 
of any law of pedagogy by either instructor. Person- 



PERSONALITY IN THE TEACHER. 263 

ality will appear in the selection of material for illus- 
tration and in the use of this material; in modes of 
explanation ; in the employment of contrivances and 
devices ; in the form of questions and in the manner of 
questioning; and in a great variety of other things 
involved in the management of the school. 

Freedom Desirable. — The attempt sometimes made by 
instructors in methods and by superintendents of schools 
to secure entire uniformity in the work of a number of 
different teachers results in the production of a mere 
mechanical sameness. Uniformity may be attained, but 
in many cases the indwelling soul which gives life, inter- 
est, and efficiency to teaching has disappeared. As far 
as possible the teacher has been transformed into an 
automatic machine, and works with much of the same 
spirit and interest with which any other machine works. 

The fact is recognized that in large schools, or in a 
system of related schools where many teachers are em- 
ployed, a considerable degree of uniformity is necessary 
in a few things; is probably desirable in some other 
things ; while in many matters it is not necessary and 
perhaps not even desirable. Teachers in subordinate 
positions should be held responsible by superintendents 
and others in authority for results, should be required 
and expected to secure certain ends, to accomplish an 
assigned amount of work in various branches of study, 
but should be allowed all possible liberty in the selection 
and use of means and in methods of working. By such 
an arrangement due respect is paid to the teacher's judg- 
ment and individuality, all desirable freedom of action is 
permitted, and the power of personality has room to do 
its best service to individual pupils and to the school as 
a whole. 



264 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Unconscious Action of Personality. — The personality 
of the teacher does much of its most effective and most 
fruitful work without conscious effort or purpose on his 
part. This work is what Dr. Huntington, in his beauti- 
ful essay, calls " unconscious tuition," " that part of the 
teacher's work which he does when he seems not to be 
doing anything at his work at all." The child receives 
the influence as unconsciously as the teacher exerts it. 
The one moulds and fashions, and the other is moulded 
and fashioned, and the work moves along so silently that 
neither knows what is going on till the transformation is 
accomplished. Everywhere this giving and receiving is 
taking place ; and everything that gives, gives of its own 
real substance and nature ; it cannot do otherwise. The 
sun gives its light and heat, the rose its odor, the lily its 
fragrance ; the good, the true, the beautiful in nature, in 
art, in human life, send forth goodness, truth, and beauty. 
They fill the atmosphere about them with light, and 
warmth, and sweetness. 

In accordance with this universal law the teacher's 
personality pours over into the soul of childhood the 
very essence of his own inner character, his real self. 
To the extent of his power he recreates the pupil in his 
own intellectual and moral image, and sends him out as 
his representative into the world. It is this fact that 
adds weight to the responsibility of the instructors of 
children, and equally to the responsibility of the officers 
charged with the duty of selecting teachers for the public 
schools. 

The Real Question. — The question with such officers 
should be not merely, How much does this candidate for 
a position know of the things to be taught, how high 
marks does the examination give in the various branches, 



PERSONALITY IN THE TEACHER. 265 

what recommendations has she received from accommo- 
dating committees and well-wishing friends? but rather, 
What is the real character of the person ; what natural 
and acquired tastes, what dispositions, what personal 
characteristics has she? It may even be inquired, What 
is the personal appearance, the dress, the general bear- 
ing of the individual ? All these things enter into the 
personality of the teacher and help or hinder her in the 
work which should be done. They are all potent factors 
in the silent influence which she will exert. 

M. Compayre, in discussing the subject of govern- 
ment and discipline, says: — 

" The physical qualities of the teacher are not themselves to 
be despised as an instrument of discipline. Form, physiog- 
nomy, and voice play their part in well-conducted schools. It 
is useless to insist on those qualities which depend wholly on 
nature ; but what an earnest purpose can control are the general 
bearing of the body, the appearance of the face, and gestures. 
But physical qualities are of little account compared with moral 
qualities, which are the principal element of authority. By 
dint of patience, energy, and activity, a teacher, even physi- 
cally uncomely, may acquire a real ascendency over his pupils. 
The teacher is not truly worthy of his name of master, except 
when he masters his school by the ascendency of his moral 
authority. External and in some sort mechanical means of 
discipline are worth nothing, unless they are seconded by the 
moral force which only good teachers possess ; and in schools 
where this moral authority is well established they become 
almost useless." 

Manners. — One of the most important elements in 
the effective working power of personality is found in the 
manners. I do not mean by manners simply certain for- 
mal and conventional modes of movement and behavior 



266 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

regarded as appropriate to times and places, which may 
be altogether artificial and meaningless, and may be put 
on and laid off at pleasure. I mean rather a behavior 
which is the natural outgrowth and expression of the 
thoughts and feelings; which embodies, in form and 
action, the highest and best impulses of the soul; which 
signifies genuine courtesy, kindness, charity, and good- 
will; which cannot be adequately described in language, 
but can be felt in every nerve of the body and in every 
susceptibility of the soul. 

Upon this point I make some extracts from Dr. Hunt- 
ington's essay previously referred to. He says : — 

"Another of the silent but formative agencies in education 
is that combination of physical signs and motions which we 
designate in the aggregate as manners. Some one has said, 
' A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face ; but a beauti- 
ful behavior is better than a beautiful form. It is the finest of 
the fine arts.' 

" Manners are a compound of form and spirit, — spirit acted 
into form. The reason that the manner is so often spiritless 
and unmeaning is that the person does not contain soul 
enough to inform and carry off the body. Manners also react 
upon the mind that produces them, just as they themselves are 
reacted upon by the dress in which they appear. Then there 
is a connection more sacred still between the manners and the 
affections. They act magically on the springs of feeling. 
They teach us love and hate, indifference and zeal. They 
are the ever-present sculpture-gallery. 

" Whoever imagines legitimate manners can be taken up 
and laid aside, put on and off for the moment, has missed 
their deepest law. Doubtless there are artificial manners, but 
only in artificial persons. A noble and attractive every-day 
bearing comes of goodness, of sincerity, of refinement. And 



PERSONALITY IN THE TEACHER. 267 

these are bred in years, not moments. If lofty sentiments 
habitually make their home in the heart, they will beget, not 
perhaps a factitious and finical drawing-room etiquette, but 
the breeding of a genuine and more royal gentility, to which 
no simple, no young heart will refuse its homage. Children 
are not educated till they catch the charm that makes a gentle- 
man or a lady." 

After having dwelt at some length upon several of 
the channels through which the influence of personality 
flows out from one soul into another with its transform- 
ing power, he concludes by declaring : — 

" After all, however, there is a total impression going out 
from character, through the entire person, which we cannot 
wholly comprehend under any terms, nor grasp in any analysis. 
We now and then meet a person who, we cannot tell how, by 
the mere magnetism of his being, kindles our enthusiasm and 
liberates our faculties. . . . Nor need it cast any suspicion on 
this doctrine that it implies a power acting which we cannot 
shut up into definitions ; certainly not as long as we are born 
out of one indefinable mystery and die into another. It is a 
property of man, no less than of even material things, that he 
carries along with him more than can be measured by his 
literal dimensions." 

While other things are necessary, it may be affirmed, 
without fear of successful contradiction, that this won- 
drous but incomprehensible power of personal character 
is the most essential element in the teacher's prepara- 
tion for his work. It may be coveted without blame, 
since we are exhorted to " covet earnestly the best 
gifts." Every teacher who seeks the highest suc- 
cess and the highest usefulness, should strive to 
acquire it ; for while, in its perfection, it is largely a 



268 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

gift of nature, yet, like all human excellences, it may 
be attained, in good measure, by patient and long- 
continued effort. 



FOR READING. 

Page's Theory and Practice of Teaching, chapters l, h\, 
and iii. 

Stanley's Life and Correspondence of Dr. Thomas Arnold, 
vol. i., chapter iii. 

Compayr^'s Lectures on Teaching, chapters viii. and xii. 

Forum, Papers on " How I was educated." 

Howland's Practical Hints for Teachers, chapters ii. 
and vii. 

Payne's Contributions to the Science of Education, chap- 
ters xiii. and xvii. 

White's School Management ; topic, The Teacher as Gov- 
ernor. 

Huntington's Unconscious Tuition. 

T. J. Morgan, Studies in Pedagogics, chapters xiv. and xviii. 

Arnold's Waymarks for Teachers ; topic, Talks on School 
Subjects. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

SELECTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF STUDIES. 

THE general principles which should govern the 
selection and arrangement of courses of studies 
were stated in a previous chapter. 

The subject, however, is of so much practical impor- 
tance that it may properly receive a little special con- 
sideration. 

Condition Years Ago. — Fifty years ago the courses of 
study in the ordinary public schools, if courses could be 
said to exist, were very simple. They embraced scarcely 
more than the traditional three R's, — reading, writing, 
and a little of arithmetic. In some cases grammar had 
been introduced and a very small modicum of geography. 

Additions. — Additions have been made, from time to 
time, to these primitive studies until the curriculum of 
many of the schools is over-crowded with a great num- 
ber of unrelated subjects, arranged with little or no re- 
gard to logical or psychological order. No effort has 
been made, in most cases, to correlate or coordinate the 
different branches of study. 

A Serious Evil. — The evil has become a serious one, 
and is felt in several directions. In the first place the 
mental energy of pupils is dissipated by being turned, 
for a little time, now upon one subject and now upon 



270 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

another, without being thoroughly concentrated upon 
anything. 

Very little genuine mental discipline is secured, and no 
real mental power is acquired under such conditions. 

In the second place the knowledge obtained is alto- 
gether superficial and " scrappy " ; no one subject is 
thoroughly mastered. No proper conception is formed 
of the relation of one branch of study to other branches, 
or of one truth to other truths, or even of one fact to 
other facts in the same department of study. The acqui- 
sitions of knowledge, if what is learned may be dignified 
with the name of knowledge, are not converted into a 
homogeneous, consistent, properly articulated whole. 
The student, going out into the business of the world, 
finds himself unable to make use of what he calls his 
knowledge for practical purposes ; his supposed resources 
prove not to be available when they are most needed. 
Naturally enough there is a rapidly growing dissatisfac- 
tion with this condition of affairs. No class in the 
community is more dissatisfied than the teachers in the 
schools. They know better than any one else can know 
how much of hard work, both of teachers and pupils, 
goes for almost nothing on account of this chaotic state 
of the school curriculum. 

Remedies Suggested. — First Remedy. — Several rem- 
edies have been suggested. A few persons, who are 
fully persuaded that " the former days were better than 
the present," advocate a return to the ancient simplicity, 
and advise the removal from the courses of studies of 
pretty nearly everything except the sacred three original 
branches. This proposition, however, finds favor with 
only a small portion of the friends of public education. 
Evidently relief cannot be looked for in this direction. 



SELECTION OF STUDIES. 2JI 

Other Remedies. — Two other sources of relief for this 
evil have been suggested, though the two may, to some 
extent, be united. The first source is found in the con- 
centration of studies ; the second, in the correlation or 
coordination of studies. 

Concentration. — The doctrine of concentration is, in 
substance, that some one study should be selected, as the 
core or centre of all instruction, and that other branches 
of study should be subordinated to this central subject, 
should radiate from it as spokes from the hub of the 
wheel, or should cling to it as " iron filings to a magnet." 
The advocates of this doctrine emphasize strongly the 
fact that studies may be, and naturally are, divided into 
two groups or classes; first, real or thought studies, 
those studies which contain the subject-matter or sub- 
stance of knowledge ; and second, formal studies, those 
studies which simply give embodiment, form, and ex- 
pression to the subject-matter, the ideas and truths found 
in the real studies. Reading, writing, language, gram- 
mar, drawing, and all other branches concerned merely 
with the expression of thought, in any form, are called 
formal studies. 

The central core must be a real study; the formal 
studies must be completely subordinated to this, must be 
considered only so far as they are necessary to the under- 
standing and expression of what is found in the real 
study. When a fact, a thought, or a truth is discovered 
and grasped by the mind, it will seek some form of ex- 
pression. The child will struggle to represent, in some 
way, his thoughts and feelings to others. Under the 
impulse of this desire he naturally and spontaneously 
learns to talk, to read, to write, to draw and paint. The 
formal studies, therefore, may be relegated to a very 



272 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

subordinate place in the school curriculum, and the main 
labor of pupils may be given to the few real studies. 
Under this plan, while reading, spelling, writing, and lan- 
guage would still be taught in the schools, they would 
be taught in connection with real studies and would 
hardly have a separate place on the program, or occupy 
any special time of their own. 

Under exceptionally favorable conditions it may be 
practicable to arrange a curriculum for a small school 
by concentrating all the studies around some single 
central core ; but for the present, at least, this plan can- 
not be adopted in the ordinary schools. No single sub- 
ject can be found around which all other subjects of 
instruction will naturally group themselves into a posi- 
tion of subordination. 

Correlation and Coordination. — The doctrine of coor- 
dination proposes to arrange the various studies of the 
school courses along two or three pretty distinct lines, 
making as frequent connections as possible between the 
separate lines, and keeping the work of each line in close 
touch with that of the other lines, so that the rate of 
progress shall be uniform in all departments of instruc- 
tion. The lines of study are to be so firmly united 
that the final outcome shall be a consistent whole of 
thoroughly assimilated knowledge in the mind of the 
pupil. 

One line of studies will consist of history, literature, 
and kindred subjects. This line is concerned with 
the works and thoughts of man, and may be called 
humanistic. 

Another line will consist of scientific studies, both 
physical and biological, and will include geography and 
kindred subjects. 



SELECTION OF STUDIES. 273 

A third line, in some respects subordinate to the other 
two, but in the main coordinate, will be made up of 
mathematics and closely related subjects. 

The formal studies, reading, spelling, writing, drawing, 
and so on, will be readily united with the first and second 
lines without making a distinct group. The ethical as- 
pect or purpose of education will be provided for in the 
humanistic line of studies, and the practical, business 
aspect will receive all necessary attention in connection 
with the scientific and mathematical lines. 

Selection and Arrangement of Studies. — It remains to 
inquire what considerations or principles will guide in 
the selection of the material of these courses, and in 
determining the order in which this material shall be ar- 
ranged. Either one of two orders of arrangement may 
be adopted, the logical or the psychological; that is, the 
order required if only the relation of the studies to one 
another is regarded, or the arrangement required if the 
order in which the psychical powers of the child are de- 
veloped is considered. Studies for mature minds should 
undoubtedly be put in logical order ; it is equally cer- 
tain that the psychological order should be adopted for 
the child. 

Culture Epoch Theory. — Accepting the psychological 
order as the true one for young children, some of the 
writers who adopt the theory that the child, in his devel- 
opment, passes successively through intellectual and 
moral stages corresponding to the stages or epochs 
through which the most advanced portion of the human 
race has passed in reaching its present elevation, insist 
that the humanistic line of studies should be selected 
from the literature of the successive " culture epochs " 
so-called. Courses of instruction have been carefully 

18 



274 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

arranged in accordance with this theory by some German 
educators. Commencing with fairy tales, myths, and 
legends, the course gradually emerges into the realm of 
genuine biography and real history, and of correspond- 
ing literature. 

There is a certain fascination about this theory, a 
pleasing degree of probability, and a considerable meas- 
ure of truth ; but as a working basis for the selection of 
material for consecutive courses of instruction it is open 
to serious, if not fatal, objections. 

Objections. — For some valuable ideas upon this point 
I am largely indebted to Lange's work on Apperception. 
Freely admitting the marked similarity between the de- 
velopment of the individual and the evolution of the 
race, it is easy to make too far-reaching inferences from 
this by leaving out of account some very important con- 
siderations. 

The child is born into a certain stage of civilization ; 
this civilization is his inheritance. One of the high pur- 
poses of education is to put the child into full possession 
of this rich inheritance at the earliest practicable period 
of his life. The race has struggled for ages to accumu- 
late this inheritance of history, literature, art, and sci- 
ence. It has gone through many and bitter experiences. 
Must the child of to-day necessarily struggle in the same 
way and have essentially the same experiences? May 
he not reach the goal by a much shorter and more direct 
path? 

"Even if the individual apperceives and appropriates the 
knowledge and experience given in the process of human de- 
velopment just as the race did, it by no means follows from 
that that this must happen in exactly the order of progression 
in which the culture-matter was gradually evolved. The case 



SELECTION OF STUDIES. 275 

is conceivable that the individual mind, avoiding the circuitous 
race development, apperceives the experiences of the race 
according to other and to him better suited points of view." 

Individual development and race development must 
differ in many important respects, on account of differing 
conditions. The child of to-day is born into the environ- 
ment of the present age ; his development commences 
when this environment begins to touch his soul through 
his physical organism. His sensations, perceptions, 
thoughts, and feelings are all of the present ; and though 
his mental progress may correspond stage by stage with 
that of the race, his experiences at any given period will 
be as unlike those of the race at the corresponding period 
as the experiences of a child in the wilds of Central 
Africa are unlike those of the child in an American 
kindergarten. 

" It is obvious, moreover, that the child, during the periods 
of school life, can pass through only a part of the culture- 
epochs, and for this reason the selection of material for study 
cannot be based on the asserted correspondence of race and 
individual development ; for otherwise the most valuable cul- 
ture-matter would have to be withheld from the great majority 
of the public- school pupils, who leave school as early as the 
fourteenth or sixteenth year. The thought, therefore, of arrang- 
ing the subject-matter of instruction in genetic order must be 
regarded not as a sole and universally valid principle, but one 
to be taken into account along with others." 

" It is evident that true pedagogical principles require, first 
of all, that the matter to be taught must, on the whole, lie close 
to the child's experience. This experience has its roots in the 
soil of one's home, of one's native neighborhood, in one's 
native country. The material of study must be selected with 



276 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

reference to existing conditions. This fact justifies, if it does 
not demand, a selection of material of study, to a considerable 
extent, from national treasures of knowledge, from national 
history and literature." 

The material must be arranged, in the lower grades of 
the schools, in psychological order ; that is, it must be 
adapted to the degree of development of the child, to 
the assimilative power of his mind, to the experiences 
through which the pupil is passing outside the school, 
in the home, and in the neighborhood. 

Thus arises that harmonious state of thought and feel- 
ing which, like the right mood, is especially favorable to 
the assimilation of knowledge. Such an arrangement of 
studies should be made that, at each period of progress, 
the largest possible amount of related matter may be 
treated at one time. Always offer to the child that 
knowledge for whose thorough comprehension and as- 
similation the most favorable conditions exist or can be 
readily created. 

The following summary, borrowed in the main from 
Lange, presents the most important points to be con- 
sidered in selecting and arranging the several lines of 
study : — 

1. Select such materials of knowledge as lie close to 
child experience in general, and especially material which 
is close to the experience of the particular people and 
children with whom you are immediately concerned. 

2. Take into consideration any peculiarities of intel- 
lectual or moral development in the people generally or 
in the children of the locality, in determining the con- 
tent and form of the subject-matter to be selected. 

3. Arrange the matter of instruction in all lines in 
such a way that each topic shall prepare the way for the 



SELECTION OF STUDIES. 2JJ 

next one, and shall create in the child a strong desire for 
what is to follow, and shall afford numerous aids to easy 
assimilation. 

4. Arrange the several parallel lines of subjects in the 
curriculum in such a manner that in each grade as many 
as possible of allied, or naturally related, topics may be 
presented at the same time, and thus become associated 
in the consciousness of the child. 

By such an arrangement it is made easy for the child to 
unite the results of the instruction in the various subjects 
into a homogeneous and compact body of knowledge. 

Tentative Efforts. — A few tentative efforts have been 
made to arrange courses of studies out of American 
material adapted to the successive grades of the public 
schools. 

Most of these attempts, however, have been based 
upon the idea of concentration about a single central 
subject rather than upon the idea of two or three parallel 
and coordinate lines of studies. 

As a natural consequence, it has been found very dif- 
ficult, if not impossible to present a course sufficiently 
satisfactory to command general attention, or to secure 
favorable consideration from practical teachers. It will 
not prove a matter of serious difficulty to arrange courses 
along parallel lines. 

Uniformity not Desirable. — But it will be found unwise 
to attempt to make such courses for the primary grades 
of the schools from just the same material in all parts of 
our country. For the courses in the first, second, and 
third grades, and to some extent even in the fourth, local 
material should be very largely selected. Such local 
material is abundant in all sections of the country, and 
is of a most interesting character. 



278 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

The early history of Massachusetts affords rich mate- 
rial for profitable use in her schools ; New York, Penn- 
sylvania, and the Carolinas have abundant stores of 
subject-matter for interesting and instructing their chil- 
dren ; Ohio, Michigan, and the other Central States have 
no lack of stories of adventure and settlement, of early 
pioneer life, of French " wood-rangers " and zealous, 
self-denying " apostles " to the Indians, stories which, it 
may be, sometimes combine a little of fable and myth 
with sober truth, but which their children should know. 
The farther West has its own peculiar supply of avail- 
able material. 

There is something wonderfully attractive to many 
minds in the idea of uniformity. They seem to over- 
look the fact that environments differ, and that early life 
must take its tone and color from its immediate sur- 
roundings : that it is the near in place and time which 
most interests the child. Let the idea of uniformity in 
the humanistic line of studies be put aside when provi- 
sion is to be made for the lower grades of the elementary 
schools. 

In the higher grades the material will be sought, not 
from local life and local environment, but from national 
life and from national history and literature. Here 
uniformity will come of itself and without conscious 
effort. 

Since the various branches of mathematics are free 
from local peculiarities and coloring, essentially the same 
course will be adapted to all sections of the country. 
This course will naturally take a logical order, while 
methods of teaching will conform to the psychological 
order. 

The course in science, in different places, will have 



SELECTION OF STUDIES. 279 

more of uniformity, in the lower grades, than the hu- 
manistic course, but not quite so much as the mathe- 
matical. In giving instruction regard should be had for 
local conditions, and, as a rule, the material used should 
be selected from the immediate environment. 



REFERENCES. 

Lange's Apperception : topic, Choice and Arrangement of 
the Material of Instruction. 

McMurry's General Method, chapter iv., Concentration. 

Rein's Outlines of Pedagogics : topic, The Theory of In- 
struction. 

Educational Review, vol. iv. pp. 422-437 ; vol. v. pp. 451- 
466. 

Payne's Contributions to the Science of Education, chapter 
hi., Education Values. 

Bain's Education as a Science, chapter v., Education Values. 

Parker's Talks on Pedagogics, chapter ii., Central Subjects 
of Study. 

Fitch's Lecture on Teaching, chapter xv., Correlation of 
Studies. 

Groszmann, M. P. E. Contribution to the Solution of the 
Problem of the Coordination of Studies. (Pamphlet.) 

Herbart and the Herbartians, Part II., chapters ii., hi., iv., 
vi., ix., and Part III., chapters ii., iv. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 

Infant Psychology. — Education, as has been stated, 
is largely the result of action and reaction between the 
child and his environment, between mind and the outer 
world. A large part of the work of the parent and 
the teacher is to provide that this action and reaction 
shall take place under conditions as favorable to the 
child as possible. In order that such conditions may 
be provided, the teacher must understand the child as 
well as his environment; must become acquainted with 
the nature of the child, both physical and psychical, 
and must know the order, stages, and rate of progress 
of his development. It is true, in a general sense, that 
" the child is father of the man," that every activity of 
mature manhood exists in " germ and possibility " in 
the half-conscious infant. There is no " Infant Psy- 
chology," if by this expression we mean that the child 
has psychical powers and activities different in kind 
from the powers and activities of the man. If, how- 
ever, the meaning is that the forms in which these 
activities manifest themselves, at the beginning of life 
and during several of the early years of childhood, are 
in appearance marvellously unlike the modes of mani- 
festation in later periods, then, indeed, there is an 
" Infant Psychology" worthy of the most careful study. 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 28 1 

Field of Study. — Within the last few years a good 
deal of attention has been given to the observation of 
children and to the study of their modes of psychical 
activity. The greater part of this attention has been 
bestowed upon children under three years of age, so 
that the results of the work done afford only indirect 
assistance to teachers in the primary schools. Quite 
recently children in school and of school age have been 
subjected to observation, to some extent, and the results 
of such observations have been published in various 
forms. The practical value to teachers of this study of 
childhood remains to be determined. It is reasonable 
to expect in due season some valuable returns for the 
labor expended ; but it is still too early to look for 
formulated results which will modify methods of teach- 
ing or of school management, or will help materially 
toward the solution of the troublesome educational 
problems of the day. All intelligent teachers will desire 
to keep themselves informed of the general progress of 
child study and of the fragmentary results of such study 
as they appear. 

Some Results Attained. — The actual results thus far 
attained in the study of early childhood maybe summed 
up somewhat briefly. It is agreed that conscious men- 
tal life begins with sensations, and that sensations are 
states of mind produced by the action of external ob- 
jects and influences upon the outer extremities of sen- 
sory nerves. After a little time, by the spontaneous 
action of the mind, sensations or their causes are 
located in space and time, and the result is perception, 
that is, a knowledge by the soul of things outside of 
itself. The nature of sensations and of the resulting 
percepts depends upon the character of the environ- 



282 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

ment and upon the number and functions of the senses. 
If the number of the senses were increased, the field of 
knowledge would be correspondingly extended ; if the 
number were diminished, the field of knowledge would 
be by so much contracted. 

Action of the Senses at first. — At the beginning of life 
the action of all the senses is very feeble. 

Taste. — The earliest sensations experienced are prob- 
ably those of taste. The child within a very brief period 
after birth appears to distinguish tastes that are de- 
cidedly different from one another, such as sweet, sour, 
and bitter. The development of this sense proceeds 
with considerable rapidity, though there are great dif- 
ferences among children in this respect. 

Smell. — The sense of smell manifests activity almost 
simultaneously with that of taste. The two are very 
closely related in the matter of selecting and enjoying 
food and in some other directions. Careful experi- 
ments show that children are susceptible to very strong 
odors during the first day of life. Agreeable odors are 
discriminated from disagreeable ones in the fifth and 
sixth weeks, and before the close of the first year some 
children exhibit evidence of enjoying in a marked 
degree the scent of flowers. The sense of smell develops 
less rapidly than some of the other senses, and is less 
acute in the child than in the adult. 

Touch and Temperature. — The child must be suscep- 
tible to touch from the first moments of life, but the 
earliest impressions evidently produce very confused 
and uncertain sensations, giving no clear notions of 
anything external. Unlike the other senses, touch has 
its end-organs extended to all parts of the body and is 
frequently called the fundamental sense. Different parts 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN, 283 

of the body exhibit very marked differences in degrees 
of sensitiveness to touch. The lips, the upper surface of 
the tongue, the lining membrane of the nostrils are ex- 
ceedingly sensitive. The various parts of the eye, the 
skin of the face, the palm of the hand, and the sole of 
the foot are also peculiarly sensitive to touch. Touch, 
from the very first, ranks high as a knowledge-giving 
sense. In connection with sight and muscular move- 
ment it helps to notions of space, form, size, direction, 
distance, etc. 

The sense of temperature is closely connected with 
touch, but should be distinguished from it. Like touch, 
it extends to all parts of the body, and like touch, may 
be regarded as passive and active; that is, the hand, for 
example, may be impressed by some object, or may feel 
the temperature of a hot or a cold substance without 
any effort or movement of its own ; or it may be stretched 
out to touch or to test the temperature of an object. In 
the one case it is passive, it merely receives ; in the other 
it is active, it puts forth effort. Touch and temperature 
are at first both passive in case of the young child. 

Organic and Muscular Feelings. — Organic feelings are 
those general feelings of comfort and discomfort which 
arise from the condition and action of the internal 
organs of the body. Probably the new-born child is 
susceptible of pain and pleasure from this source, but 
observations have thus far given us no important knowl- 
edge touching the character of his sensations. Muscular 
movements are without doubt attended with pleasurable 
or painful feelings ; but most of these movements during 
the first weeks of life are non-voluntary, and the attending 
feelings must be exceedingly vague and indefinite in 
character. A little later the healthy child finds great 



284 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

pleasure in the vigorous exercise of his muscles. Prob- 
ably as early as the beginning of the second year the 
pleasure resulting from appropriate exercise and instinc- 
tive curiosity unite in impelling the child to a good 
measure of physical activity in creeping, walking, and 
handling all objects within his reach. 

Hearing. — During the first hours of life, the Eusta- 
chian tube not being yet fully open, the child is com- 
pletely deaf. " And even when several days have passed, 
the hearing must be called bad. A difficulty of hearing 
continues to exist normally for a long time, and this 
peculiarity is of great benefit to the child ; for, if he were 
able to hear as well as an adult, he would be altogether 
too much disturbed just in that first period of life when 
he needs rest most of the time." During this time the 
child is affected by loud noises and jars which probably 
agitate the nerves generally more than the auditory 
nerve. 

Observers are not agreed as to the time when distinct 
hearing begins. The localizing of sounds, that is, the 
determination of the direction and distance from which 
a sound comes, proceeds very slowly. The first indica- 
tions of effort to localize is shown by turning the head. 
This turning is first noticed between the tenth and the 
seventeenth week, the conclusions of different observers 
being considerably at variance. The power to distinguish 
the quality of sounds so as to know one voice from an- 
other, or the different tones of the same voice, is devel- 
oped slowly; the time when this can be done beyond 
question varies, according to different writers, from the 
sixteenth day to three months, or even later. It is alto- 
gether likely that much depends upon the efforts made 
by those in charge of the child. It can hardly be 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 285 

doubted that different tones do produce different effects 
upon the general nervous system of the child quite early, 
even though the ear fails to recognize clearly their differ- 
ences. It is a matter of common observation that harsh 
and discordant tones excite and irritate a very young 
child ; while gentle and harmonious tones soothe and 
quiet the same child. This probably results from the 
susceptibility of children to the influence of - musical 
sounds and rhythm. As a general rule children from a 
very early period, in some extreme cases as early as the 
second or third week of life, and frequently as early as 
the middle of the first year, exhibit interest in music, 
this interest being, in many cases, accompanied by move- 
ments of the arms and legs. "There are two chief 
sources of pleasure in music : the time, and the tune. 
With regard to the first, it seems safe to say that no 
healthy, normal child, after the first few weeks, fails to 
appreciate rhythmical movements." The susceptibility 
to melody is shown quite clearly as early as the fifth or 
sixth month. A child, five and a half months old, would 
cry when a plaintive air was played, and would exhibit 
pleasure by tossing its arms and jumping when a lively 
melody was played. Most observers conclude that all 
normal children have capacity to appreciate music, and 
that this capacity may be easily cultivated by proper 
treatment. It is said by some that children accustomed 
to hear day by day harsh, discordant, grating noises 
come to like these as well as the most agreeable melo- 
dies. There is, however, good reason for questioning 
the correctness of this conclusion, although the musical 
susceptibility may undoubtedly be greatly modified by 
the sort of culture which it receives. 

Sight. — The mechanism of the eye is complete at 



286 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

birth, and light can be distinguished from darkness on 
the first day of life, but seeing, in the proper sense of 
the term, does not take place at once. The power to 
adjust the movements of the eye to external conditions 
is acquired only gradually, and perfect co-ordination in 
the movements of the two eyes is not secured until sev- 
eral days, perhaps weeks, have passed. One eye may 
move while the other remains at rest; one may turn in 
one direction and the other in a different direction ; one 
may open while the other remains shut, and still other 
variations in movements may occur for considerable time. 
Preyer says, " The field of vision at the beginning of life 
resembles a chart placed close to the eyes, upon which 
the colored, the bright, and the dark parts of the surface 
blend with one another so that nothing is distinctly ap- 
prehended. It is idle, therefore, to dispute whether the 
new-born infant sees an object single or double with his 
two eyes ; or whether he sees it upright, or upside down ; 
or whether he confounds right and left in the field of 
vision. In reality he sees no object at all yet, and is 
very slow in learning to distinguish between above and 
below, left and right, near and far, by means of the 
motions of things, by the movements of his own eyes, 
and by his attempts to seize objects." 

The progress of the child in seeing is divided into 
four stages by Preyer, and some others adopt his divis- 
ions. There is, first, simply "staring" into space; 
probably sensation is experienced, but no object is 
clearly perceived. The " looking " of the child during 
the first few days is undoubtedly of this sort. The head 
is turned, the eyes are opened widely, but there is no 
intelligent, voluntary action. The acts are instinctive or 
reflex. The second stage is that of real " looking; " the 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 287 

eyes are consciously and purposely fixed upon an object, 
and there is something of expression in the countenance. 
This stage is reached during the fifth week by children 
of average intelligence. 

In the third stage the child acquires the power of " fol- 
lowing" with his eyes a moving object, the head remain- 
ing motionless. The movement at first must be slow, 
and the object specially attractive by its bright color. 
This " following " begins, in most cases observed, about 
the fifth week or a little later. 

In the fourth stage the child passes from looking and 
following to active and voluntary "search" for objects. 
This power is acquired about the fourth or fifth month. 
The earliest exhibitions of " searching " are seen in the 
efforts of a child to discover a person whose voice he 
hears, or to find an object which has suddenly dis- 
appeared. 

Judging of Distance. — At first the child sees only 
what is near him ; and for a long time after he sees ob- 
jects at different distances he is utterly unable to judge 
of these distances. A boy nearly a year old reaches 
eagerly for the moon, and another at two, standing on 
the ground, tries to hand something to a person looking 
out of a second-story window. Distance is learned 
originally by muscular movements in reaching, creeping, 
and walking. 

Discriminating Colors. — For several days the new-born 
child does not distinguish colors ; he only distinguishes 
light from darkness. After discrimination commences 
it evidently progresses very slowly, though it is exceed- 
ingly difficult to determine the exact rate of progress 
from-the fact that the child's acquisitions in language are 
still too limited to enable him to give names to his color 



288 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

concepts, or to describe the discriminations which 
possibly he makes in his own mind. Since there is no 
natural relation between a color and its name, the child 
must find serious difficulty in associating them; doubt- 
less many of the apparent failures of children to recog- 
nize and name colors correctly come from lack of such 
association. In many cases the vocabularies of children 
of two or three years of age contain no names of colors, 
or very few such names, although they may use four or 
five hundred words. A few children show a preference 
for some particular color within the first months, and 
even within the first four or five weeks. Various experi- 
ments in testing the power of color discrimination have 
been made, all of which are attended with more or less 
of difficulty, and with considerable doubt as to the cor- 
rectness of the results, or the reliability of the conclusions 
drawn from these. The results obtained thus far by 
different observers do not agree, and it will be the part 
of wisdom to wait for other and more conclusive experi- 
ments and observations. Without doubt any bright 
colors, such as red and yellow, are first discriminated; 
beyond this no positive affirmations can, up to this time, 
be made with safety. Color discrimination, like discrimi- 
nation in any other direction, involves the power to com- 
pare and judge, and these acts depend upon the develop- 
ment and exercise of the judgment. A child may have 
a feeling of difference much earlier than he can intel- 
ligently compare the objects which differ, and state his 
conclusion. 

Early Manifestations of Feeling. — Manifestations of 
feeling appear very early in the child's life in the form 
of facial expression, of various muscular movements, and 
of cries and other vocal utterances. The first feelings 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 289 

experienced are altogether physical in their character, 
resulting from impressions of some sort upon the sen- 
sory nerves, such feelings as comfort and discomfort, 
pain and pleasure, hunger and thirst, and many others. 
The earliest feelings which partake of a psychical char- 
acter are instinctive, and have instinctive modes of 
manifestation. These modes of manifestation, however, 
continue after the purely instinctive stage has passed, 
and the feelings expressed by them become to some 
extent consciously intellectual or rational. 

Fear. — The feeling of fear is manifested at a very 
early period, perhaps as early as the eighth or tenth 
week in some cases, and quite frequently in the last half 
of the first year. These first manifestations must be 
purely instinctive or hereditary, since they take place 
before any harm has been experienced, and before defi- 
nite ideas could be formed of harmful objects. They 
are similar in character to the manifestations of fear in 
the lower animals. The young child starts and cries at 
strange sights and sounds, shrinks from cats and dogs, 
and from some persons, though he has never received 
injury from any of these. It is generally believed that 
quite young children exhibit more instinctive fear of 
sounds than of sights. Many childish manifestations of 
fear, as fear of the dark, of being alone, are undoubtedly 
due to the stories told by nurses and by other chil- 
dren, and to unwise methods employed by parents and 
teachers. 

The second stage of the child's development in this 
direction is reached when fear arises from the recollec- 
tion of past experiences, which are brought to mind by 
the presence, or by a vivid idea or representation, of an 
object or person from whom injury has been received, 



290 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

or who is in some way associated with discomfort and 
pain. Such fear, having its origin in intellectual pro- 
cesses, in memory and thought, is properly called 
rational. 

Wonder, Surprise, Astonishment* — These emotions 
manifest themselves at a very early period, and are 
closely related but not identical ; the unexpected causes 
surprise ; the new, the cause of which is not compre- 
hended, produces wonder; the two feelings are usually 
mingled in the young child's mind, and appear during 
the first month. Astonishment is not observed until a 
little later, and is a more intense feeling than wonder. 
Under its influence, when very strong, the child becomes 
motionless, the eyes are opened wide, and the lower jaw 
drops. These are evidently instinctive modes of expres- 
sion, as they appear before any opportunity of observa- 
tion can render imitation possible. It is probable that 
a natural and intimate relationship exists between the 
simple emotion of wonder and the deeper feelings of awe 
and reverence which, at a later period, the child mani- 
fests for the superior strength and wisdom of parents 
and others, and which lead ultimately to acts of adora- 
tion and worship. The acceptance of the supposition of 
such relationship carries with it necessarily an admission 
of the doctrine of the existence in the soul of germs from 
which some sort of religious faith is naturally evolved. 

Curiosity is, in its earliest manifestations, a purely in- 
stinctive impulse, closely associated with surprise and 
wonder at the beginning of life, but after a short time 
exerting its power quite apart from the influence of these 
emotions. Gradually it becomes less and less mere feel- 
ing, and more and more intellectual in its character, 
changing finally into love of knowledge. Curiosity is 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN, 29 1 

the most effective force in the development of childhood, 
showing its power as early as the sixth or eighth week, 
and becoming exceedingly active in the last part of the 
first year. 

Anger manifests itself very early, but how early it is 
difficult to determine, from the fact that its first mani- 
festations cannot easily be distinguished from those of 
discomfort and pain. Some observers discover unmis- 
takable signs of anger in the fourth week or ever earlier, 
a little later the evidences are abundant. The practical 
problem presented to the parent and the teacher is, since 
anger cannot be completely eradicated, how can the 
child be trained to properly control this feeling, which, 
uncontrolled, may become a fierce and most dangerous 
passion. Anger is closely allied to resentment and just 
indignation, and can only with extreme difficulty be 
completely separated and distinguished from these feel- 
ings. Perez says, " It is necessary to surround the cradle 
with an atmosphere of sweet serenity, but it is not always 
necessary to hide anger. Just anger should be shown, 
but with moderation." 

Feelings of Beauty, Love, Sympathy, etc. — The enjoy- 
ment of rhythm and melody, to which allusion has been 
made, may possibly be regarded as an indication of ap- 
preciation of the beautiful in movement and tones. To 
the young child undoubtedly the agreeable is the beau- 
tiful so far as the aesthetic feeling finds manifestation at 
that period. The child begins to show pleasure in per- 
sonal adornment during the last months of the first year, 
and exhibits delight in pretty flowers, and in other ob- 
jects clothed in bright colors. Yet in the selection of 
toys beauty seems to have very little influence upon his 
choice. 



292 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

The love of fun and the enjoyment of the humorous 
manifest themselves in the third or fourth month. 
" About this age childhood may be greatly amused by 
such little games as throwing a pinafore over the head 
and suddenly withdrawing it, and by the familiar games 
of hide-and-seek. Later they show great pleasure at 
being carried on one's shoulder, swung about in the air, 
or tossed up to the ceiling. They laugh most heartily 
while the fun lasts, and are very unwilling that it should 
stop." 

The early exhibitions of feeling in children are mostly 
egoistic, but some exhibitions of affection for the mother 
and other persons in charge of them appear even in the 
second month, and quite clearly in the fourth. A few 
months later great fondness is shown for dolls and other 
playthings, but in the absence of the objects, the affection 
does not seem to persist for any considerable time. The 
feeling of sympathy does not appear with distinctness 
earlier than the sixth or seventh month, but in the second 
year exhibits a good degree of strength. The desire of 
the child to receive sympathy is evident from the fact 
that, when hurt, he seldom cries unless some one is near 
enough to hear him, and in case of slight injuries he 
cries much more vigorously if sympathy is manifested 
toward him. 

Envy and Jealousy manifest themselves before the 
close of the third month in some cases, and quite strongly 
at a little later time. The distinction 'between " meum 
and tuum " is not recognized by the young child ; every- 
thing is his ; others have no rights which he " is bound 
to respect." He claims all the playthings, all the atten- 
tion, all the caresses, and is distressed if he cannot have 
them. The treatment of children when the manifesta- 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 293 

tions of these feelings commence needs to be especially 
wise and judicious. 

Intellectual Development. — The development of the 
knowing activities must of necessity go on simultane- 
ously with that of the emotions. Sensation is immedi- 
ately followed by perception , and this is attended by the 
formation of ideas and the action of the judgment and 
memory. The conscious recognition by the child of the 
difference between one sensation and another, between 
sweet and sour, between one odor, one sound, or one 
color and another, indicates intellectual activity. Ideas 
of space, of time, of distance, and of many other things 
are soon formed. It is impossible, within a limited 
space, to trace in detail the progressive steps of the 
child's intellectual development. The reception through 
the senses of impressions deep enough to result in the 
formation of distinct ideas, which can be retained and 
recalled after the lapse of several days or weeks, is so 
entirely dependent upon attention that the progressive 
development of the power of mental concentration is 
indicated by the growth of memory. A child of four 
months recognized the nurse after an absence of four 
weeks. Impressions made before the child is able to 
talk are pretty readily recalled by similar impressions 
received at a later period. Observations seem to prove 
that the mental images of things done by the child are 
more vivid and more permanent and consequently more 
surely recalled than images of things simply seen or 
heard. This indicates the importance of allowing chil- 
dren as much opportunity as possible of " doing " in 
connection with their early school work, as well as in 
connection with the home. 

The child forms associations very early by the laws of 



294 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

resemblance, contrasts, and contiguity. Perez affirms 
that, " there is not one of the combinations of associa- 
tion, which have been so carefully studied by psycholo- 
gists, of which we cannot find at least faint foreshadowing 
in the child of six or seven months." Examples of such 
association will readily occur to every one who has had 
even limited opportunities of observing young children. 
Probably the first associations are made by contiguity, as 
when the hat and cloak are associated with being carried 
out of doors, or certain articles are associated with taking 
food, or a name is associated with a person, or some 
sound or motion with that which produces it. 

Passive Imagination, so-called, which is merely simple 
conception, usually involving memory, manifests its activ- 
ity as soon as associations have been formed between 
things themselves, or ideas themselves, or between words 
or other signs and the objects and acts which these 
represent. 

Constructive -Imagination, or imagination proper, ex- 
hibits its peculiar power at a very early stage of the 
child's mental development. The cheap toys of the 
child become live soldiers manoeuvring and fighting 
battles, or locomotives and trains of cars, or steamships, 
or rows of houses, and a great multitude of other things. 
Children are very fond of imagining themselves to be 
other persons, kings, queens, fathers, mothers, teachers, 
pupils, shopkeepers, and so on indefinitely. This ten- 
dency of childhood explains many of the so-called 
" children's lies," which are, in fact, not lies at all, but 
mere creations of the imagination, related with no inten- 
tion of deception, and without involving moral turpitude. 
The cultivation of the constructive or creative imagina- 
tion is, however, attended with the possibility of danger 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 295 

to the moral nature of the child, unless care is taken to 
keep the distinction between the real and the imaginary- 
clear in the child's mind, especially when his ideas are 
to be clothed in language and described to others. 

The thinking activities of judgment and reasoning ap- 
pear in rudimentary forms, in connection with the men- 
tal processes previously treated of; conception proper, 
the power which gives birth to abstract and general 
notions, cannot manifest its power with any good degree 
of clearness until considerable progress has been made 
in psychical development. At first everything is con- 
crete and individual with the child ; the power to abstract 
and generalize is acquired very slowly, and first general- 
izations are exceedingly crude and defective. Some 
writers affirm that general concepts can be formed only 
after some progress has been made in the acquisition of 
language ; on the other hand, Perez believes that " the 
ability to abstract may show itself, though imperfectly, 
even in the first year." After the close of the second 
year the thinking processes, including reasoning, grow 
in vigor very rapidly, and manifest their activity in all 
directions, and in connection with everything which 
occupies the child's attention. 

Development of the Will. — The development and 
training of the will, in one aspect, is discussed in con- 
nection with the subject of moral instruction and train- 
ing. The purpose here is to consider briefly its early 
manifestations without reference to the question of con- 
duct in its relation to morals and responsibility. The 
existence and action of any force can be known only by 
results ; force produces movement or tendency to move- 
ment of some sort Obstacles may be in the way, 
effective resistance may be made, and movement may 



2g6 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

be prevented; the tendency, however, remains. The 
external signs of the existence and action of will are 
muscular movements, but all such movements do not 
result from the action of will. It is necessary, therefore, 
to know what signs indicate that muscular movements are 
willed, and to learn when these signs may be first recog- 
nized in the movements of the child. The muscular 
movements observed in children are conveniently divided 
into several classes, although these classes are not en- 
tirely distinct, since some movements belong in more 
than one class. 

(i) Automatic movements, such as the beating of the 
heart, respiration, and other movements of the vital 
organs ; these movements are all regular and have a 
definite purpose. 

(2) Impulsive and Random movements, such as the 
jerking movements of the hands, feet, and limbs ; these 
movements are devoid of purpose, although they serve 
an important end in giving needed exercise to the mus- 
cles, and in preparing them to act under the direction of 
the will at a little later stage of development. 

(3) Reflex movements, such as winking when some- 
thing approaches the eye, coughing when the throat is 
irritated, jerking the foot away when the sole is tickled. 
These movements may be willed at a later period. 

(4) Instinctive movements, such as sucking, swallow- 
ing, biting, grasping with the hand, creeping, and walk- 
ing. Some of these movements are automatic, and some 
are also reflex; they differ from impulsive acts in having 
a definite purpose, though this purpose may not be 
understood by the child. At a later time these acts 
may all become willed. 

It should not be supposed that these movements ap- 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 297 

pear in the order here given, or that they follow each 
other in any order ; they are mingled together from the 
very first, and some of them persist through life. 

(5) Imitative movements. The appearance of imita- 
tion indicates representation, the formation of definite 
ideas, especially of motor ideas, the existence of pur- 
pose, and consequently of will. Before an act can be 
intentionally performed, it must be mentally imaged or 
represented ; the act may have been previously per- 
formed by accident, or by a random, reflex, or instinctive 
impulse, and may, in consequence, be more readily exe- 
cuted in obedience to volition. It is obvious, then, that 
the first external manifestations of volition are discov- 
ered in efforts at imitation ; will may have been exercised 
by the child at an earlier period in efforts of various 
kinds which escape observation. 

Some writers think efforts at imitation can be discov- 
ered in the third or fourth month, and observers pretty 
generally agree that imitative acts appear clearly in the 
last half of the first year. Among these are movements 
of the lips, of the head and hands, attempts to utter 
sounds in laughing, crying, coughing, and sometimes in 
the reproduction of simple melodies. Every parent and 
teacher can testify to the early appearance of these and 
many other imitative acts. Although Perez entertains a 
different opinion, yet the conclusion seems to be well 
sustained that desire precedes or is the " primary stage 
in every volition." It is not necessary to determine 
whether desire is an inborn appetite, an instinctive im- 
pulse, or is a result of experience, although the theory 
that it is inborn or instinctive is probably true. 

Self-Consciousness, or the Idea of Self. — The idea of 
self, in the proper sense of that term, must be attained 



298 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

very slowly. It is hardly conceivable that even a child 
can be conscious of a sensation without being, at the 
same time, conscious of himself as the person or being 
who has the sensation. It is not necessary to suppose 
that the idea of self at the time is at all distinct, or that 
there is any adequate notion of what is involved in the 
idea ; but nevertheless the germ of the idea, if the ex- 
pression is allowable, must be present, and out of this 
very gradually the complete notion is evolved. The 
chief difficulty is found in determining what and how 
much the child's first and indistinct notion of self em- 
braces, and how this inadequate and imperfect idea is 
filled up by one element after another until it becomes a 
conscious notion of the real self. 

The child's treatment of his body shows that for con- 
siderable time he does not regard it as any part of him- 
self. Sometimes, even in the second year, a child bites 
his own fingers and cries at the pain without appearing 
to perceive the relation between the fingers and himself. 
It is doubtful if, during the first year and well on into the 
second, the average child recognizes any portion of his 
physical organism as part of himself. 'It seems prob- 
able that the muscular sense has much to do with devel- 
oping the idea of self, and of suggesting the connection 
of the parts of the body with each other and with the / 
or me of the child. The sense of sight, also, must play 
an important part in this matter. Preyer says : — 

" In the child who is born with all his senses, each sense 
contributes more or less toward the distinction of his own 
bodily members from other persons and from objects without 
life. The eye sees the arms, the hands, and the fingers, which 
cannot as yet be counted, the legs, knees, feet, and the still 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 299 

less countable toes — all of which move. Each separate part, 
of course, can only very slowly be impressed upon the memory 
through the sense of sight, along with the gradual development 
of the /visual sphere ; for as late as the thirteenth, the four- 
teenth, even the nineteenth month, and, in fact, toward the end 
of the second year, I have myself repeatedly perceived, in chil- 
dren perfectly sound and well developed, their own arm appears 
to them something entirely foreign. It is not easy to determine 
what part the senses of hearing, smell, and taste play in the 
development of the idea of self, but it can hardly be doubted 
that their activity combines with that of sight and touch in the 
final and full evolution of the notion." 

The behavior of the child on seeing his image in a 
mirror, and his gradual discovery of the relation of this 
image to himself, are matters of much interest; but they 
evidently have little or nothing to do with the develop- 
ment of self-consciousness. They afford excellent 
opportunity for studying the early manifestations of the 
feelings of surprise and wonder, and the growing devel- 
opment of the impulse of curiosity. 

Acquisition of Language. — The relation of the child's 
thinking to the acquisition and use of language is an 
exceedingly interesting subject of speculation, but un- 
fortunately one which cannot at present be determined 
with any good degree of satisfaction. Theorists are 
widely at variance in their conclusions, and dogmatic 
assertions fail to carry conviction or to command the 
assent of judgment. It will be the part of wisdom to be 
content with well established facts without insisting upon 
the validity of inferences hastily drawn from these. The 
speechless child can give no reliable information, and 
memory, in its backward reach, stops short of the 
period when the power of speech was first acquired and 



300 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

employed. It is often said that the child's first act is to 
cry, but this first cry has no significance, being merely 
the result of an automatic and impulsive exercise of the 
vocal muscles. Soon, however, the cry becomes modi- 
fied, differentiated, so to speak, to indicate different 
mental conditions. The modifications are at first prob- 
ably purely automatic or instinctive, produced by the 
unconscious influence of feelings upon the muscular 
organism. Such variations have been observed as early 
as the fifteenth day, and they become quite distinctly 
marked within the first three months. There are cries 
of hunger, of fear, of pain, of pleasure, and many others. 
These cries are language only in the sense in which the 
cries of animals are language. They are instinctive, 
automatic utterances, before evidences of thought, pur- 
pose, or imitation can be discovered. 

The next step toward the acquisition of language con- 
sists in further modifications of these vocal utterances, 
resulting partly from mere impulsive movements of the 
vocal muscles, partly from the apparently purposed rep- 
etition of sounds produced automatically or accidentally, 
and partly from incipient efforts at imitation. Such 
utterances are not yet indicative of thought, and do not 
constitute language, although occasionally they take the 
form of sounds of some letters of the alphabet, and, in 
a few cases, of a combination of such sounds into short 
syllables. As would be anticipated, sounds of vowels 
precede those of consonants ; and of the vowels, a gen- 
erally appears first with some of its various modifications. 
Before the sixth month, vowel sounds are united with 
one another and with consonants to produce syllables, 
as just stated, without meaning. The first consonants 
uttered are usually b, p, m, and these are united with a, 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 301 

producing such syllabic combinations as ma, mama, pa y 
papa, and so on. These combinations of sounds, though 
expressive to the parent, are probably at first entirely 
meaningless to the child. 

At about this time, that is, in the last half of the first 
year, the imitative impulse begins to be very strong, and 
progress in the production of sounds and in combining 
them, becomes comparatively rapid. During this period 
sounds, as vocal signs of things and ideas, are associated 
with objects and acts, and the child commences to pos- 
sess and to employ language in the strict acceptance of 
the term. It is stated by some observers that while the 
child is learning to walk little or no progress is made in 
the acquisition of language. If this statement is correct 
it illustrates the general truth that close attention can be 
given to only one thing at the same time. 

After the art of walking has been mastered, rapid 
progress is usually made in the matter of speech ; the 
imitative propensity finds full scope, and the tendency to 
form associations between things and words exhibits 
itself in a very marked degree. Many crude generaliza- 
tions are made through the almost instinctive impulse to 
overlook all differences when some one striking resem- 
blance is noticed, and to seize upon apparent analogies 
which soon disappear as knowledge increases. All round 
objects are balls ; the moon and all shining objects are 
lamps ; every animal which bears even a remote resem- 
blance to a dog is a bow-wow ; the namepapa is applied 
to all men, and mama to all women, for some time. 

Vocabulary at Close of Second Year. — Preyer says : 

" I have received from various mothers, who have observed 
carefully, lists which show that the vocabularies of nine children 
— eight girls and one boy — comprise in the case of the small- 



302 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

est number of words, 173, and of the largest, 1,121 words. 
But these extremes owe their great variation probably far more 
to the difference in the way of observing than to the actual 
difference in the children ; for in the one case the observer was 
very strict in excluding all doubtful expressions, while in the 
other case the words of a dictionary were marked, and the 
child was asked a question in answer to which he might employ 
the word under consideration. In this latter case suggestion 
has probably exerted a strong influence to increase the number 
of words. The remaining seven children had each a vocabu- 
lary of four or five hundred words." 

This extract justifies the conclusion that observations, 
conducted in a random way and by persons of limited 
experience in the work and without instruction or uni- 
formity in methods, have very little value; and that 
inferences and generalizations, drawn from the reported 
results of such observations, should be received with 
extreme caution, and should be held subject to frequent 
and radical revision. 

Interesting tables, prepared by Mr. Tracy of Clark 
University, giving the vocabularies of twenty or more 
children, and embracing five thousand four hundred 
words, show that of the words used, 

60 per cent are nouns, 

20 per cent are verbs, 

9 per cent are adjectives, 

5 per cent are adverbs, 

2 per cent are pronouns, 

1.7 per cent are interjections, 

0.3 per cent are conjunctions. 

Inferences from these tables must be received with the 
limitations and caution just suggested. 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 303 



FOR READING AND REFERENCE. 

Preyer's The Senses and the Will. 
Preyer's Development of the Intellect. 
Preyer's The Infant Mind. 
Perez's The First Three Years of Childhood. 
Tracy's Psychology of Childhood. 
Pedagogical Seminary, vols. i. and ii. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE STUDY OF CHILDREN (continued), 

» 

Recent Study of Children. — The study of early child- 
hood, to some of the results of which the previous chap- 
ter was devoted, has been carried on mainly by a few 
special and eminent students of physiological psychol- 
ogy. Recently the study of children has assumed a 
less scientific aspect, but has interested a larger number 
of observers. The chief value of the work up to this 
time has probably accrued to the observers themselves, 
in sharpening their powers of observation, in giving 
them a better insight into the real nature of the devel- 
oping mind, in leading to the discovery of more open 
and more direct and easier avenues of approach to the 
soul of the child, and in creating a truer and more intel- 
ligent sympathy with the dispositions, tastes, and occu- 
pations of children. Where the observers have been 
teachers, the tendency has been to draw them and their 
pupils closer together, to increase their confidence in 
each other, to make teaching less laborious and formal, 
and study on the part of the children less distasteful 
and irksome. In presenting some of the most im- 
portant of these observations and experiments, it will 
be difficult to follow any logical order. 

Contents of Children's Minds. — Examinations and ob- 
servations to ascertain the contents of children's minds, 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 305 

at the time of entering school or soon after, were made 
somewhat systematically as early as 1869 in Berlin; in 
Boston in 1880, under the direction of Dr. G. S. Hall; 
and since that time, work in the same field has been 
carried on in some other places in this country. In 
Boston, special teachers, experienced in kindergarten 
methods, were detailed to conduct the examinations, 
each teacher taking three children at a time into a room 
alone, where they would not be interrupted by the pres- 
ence of other persons, and questioning them upon topics 
predetermined, so that subjects and methods' might be 
as uniform as possible. The published tables, showing 
the results of the examinations in Boston and also in 
other localities, merely establish more satisfactorily the 
truth, previously generally accepted, that the first per- 
cepts and concepts of children are determined mainly 
by their surroundings. It might naturally be antici- 
pated that a very large per cent of children in a great 
city would be unacquainted with growing wheat, or 
growing berries, or with particular varieties of trees, or 
with other objects found almost exclusively in the coun- 
try. Evidently the purpose of such examinations, if 
they are to be of practical value to teachers or parents, 
should be to ascertain what sort of concepts children 
form of objects immediately about them, objects within 
the range of their own observation and experience, and 
with which they should be well acquainted before enter- 
ing school. 

It is agreed by all careful observers that the correct- 
ness and distinctness of the child's concepts of objects 
in his early environment, will depend upon the degree 
of attention which he has been led to give these partic- 
ular objects, upon the readiness with which names and 



306 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

descriptive words can be associated with the objects, 
and upon the pleasure found in repeating the names 
and descriptions, since such repetition brings the con- 
cept frequently into consciousness. 

The examinations reported indicate that girls excel 
in knowledge of common things just about them, of 
matters connected with home-life generally, of parts of 
the human body, and that their favorite stories are more 
imaginative than those of boys. Boys excel in knowl- 
edge of animals, of numbers, of remote things, and ex- 
hibit more power to sing and to articulate correctly 
from dictation. On the whole, there is no essential 
difference in the knowledge acquired by boys and girls 
before entering school. 

Conclusions under this Head. — (i) Since present at- 
tainments prepare the way for new ones, and the new 
and unknown must be mastered by means of the old 
and known, the first work of the teacher is to ascertain 
how much and what the child already knows. And 
since the " contents of children's minds " at school age 
depend mainly upon the environment, the teacher should 
make herself acquainted, at the very outset of her work, 
as thoroughly as possible with the local conditions and 
influences surrounding the school as a whole, and with 
the peculiar conditions and influences surrounding indi- 
vidual pupils. (2) The best educational work of par- 
ents is in the direction of training the perceptive powers 
of their children, in leading them to become acquainted 
with the most excellent things and the most wholesome 
influences in their immediate environment, and in aiding 
them to form correct and clear concepts of what they 
see, hear, and handle. (3) It is conceded that the child 
in the country has an advantage over the city child in 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 307 

the character of the sights and sounds and of the objects 
generally which surround him. Dr. Hall says, — 

" As our methods of teaching grow natural, we realize that 
city life is unnatural, and that those who grow up without 
knowing the country are defrauded of that without which 
childhood can never be complete and normal. On the whole, 
the material of the city is no doubt inferior in pedagogic 
value to country experience. A few days in the country at this 
age has raised the level of man'y a city child's intelligence 
more than a term or two of school training could do without 
it. It is there, too, that the foundations of a love of natural 
science are best laid. We cannot accept without many care- 
ful qualifications the evolutionary dictum that the child's 
mental development should repeat that of the race. Unlike 
primitive man, the child has a feeble body and is ever influ- 
enced by a higher culture about him." 

(4) Much experience with children and much tact 
and skill are required to enable one to learn by ques- 
tioning, or by other means, the exact notions which 
children have formed. They often reply at random, or 
invent answers to avoid the appearance of ignorance, or 
adopt suggestions and inferences from questions, or re- 
peat without comprehension what they have heard from 
others. The singular and amusingly absurd ideas fre- 
quently associated by children with bits of rhyme, fa- 
miliar expressions, and even with moral and religious 
maxims, reveal the unreliable nature of hasty conclu- 
sions concerning their concepts. 

Particular Mental Activities. — The study of the con- 
tents of children's minds, as an unsorted mass, is natu- 
rally supplemented by the study of particular modes of 
mental action. The Perceptive powers, being earliest in 



308 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

their development, and being peculiarly active in child- 
hood, have received some special attention. Observa- 
tions and experiments have been made upon the dif- 
ferent senses to determine in what direction they are 
particularly active in any individual child, and also 
their comparative activity in a number of different 
children. 

Sight. — Experiments have been made to ascertain 
the readiness and accuracy of children in distinguish- 
ing and judging of colors by requiring them to select, 
without much delay, from a collection of variously 
colored cards or other objects, a match for any color 
placed before them. Their power to judge by sight of 
form is determined by requiring the selection of corre- 
sponding forms, and also by efforts at drawing and 
modelling. The number of small objects which can 
be distinguished at a glance is ascertained by tests with 
dots, sticks, pebbles, leaves, and other things. The abil- 
ity to judge of the extent of space, in the several dimen- 
sions, is tested by means of sticks or lines of different 
lengths, by squares and other figures, drawn on a plane 
surface, and by small solids of varying sizes. 

The other Senses. — The other senses are tested by 
appropriate means, — hearing by experiments on the 
pitch of sounds, upon singing the scale, upon the influ- 
ence of rhythmic utterances over movements of the 
hands and feet and other parts of the body. Tests of 
the senses of taste, smell, and touch will readily suggest 
themselves without particular description. 

The Reproductive and Representative Activities have 
been subjected to observations of an interesting char- 
acter in various quarters and by various means. The 
results show, as might have been predicted, the intimate 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 309 

relation between percepts and images or concepts, 
between the action of the senses and the action of mem- 
ory and imagination. The child can remember and 
reproduce, in the early stage of his development, only 
what he has received through sensation; and he can 
exercise creative or productive imagination only upon 
materials furnished by the same activities. 

Memory, or Reproductive Imagination. — As just stated, 
the memory can return only what it has received ; it 
is the servant of the other psychical powers. Conse- 
quently tests of memory in the child are rather tests 
of the comparative activity and productiveness of the 
different senses. The cultivation of a particular sense 
determines that memory and imagination shall be culti- 
vated in the direction of the material which that sense 
supplies. One may, therefore, if he prefers, speak of 
different memories and different imaginations, as the 
visual, auditory, and motor memory or imagination, 
indicating by this form of speech merely the specific 
direction in which the activity is of necessity exercised. 
Which of the senses shall be most active in childhood, 
and shall in consequence furnish the greatest number of 
psychical images or notions for reproduction and com- 
bination, may be determined by native disposition and 
taste, by the apparent accident of surrounding condi- 
tions, or by the set purpose of parents and teachers. 

Touch. — Observations appear to prove that images 
derived through touch are seldom reproduced with 
much vividness or distinctness by the ordinary child. 
The reason for this is obvious : he depends very little 
upon this sense for his acquisitions. On the other 
hand, the blind, and especially the blind and deaf mute, 
reproduces tactile impressions with great facility, since 



310 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

he is forced to rely upon this sense for almost all his 
knowledge. The cases of Laura Bridgman and Helen 
Keller afford most interesting illustrations of this fact. 

Visual Images. — Undoubtedly visual images, images 
proper, are recalled more readily and more abundantly 
than any others by the majority of children and by 
adults also. Sight is sometimes called the regal sense. 
Thoreau says, " Of five castes it is the Brahmin." 
The visualizing power differs very greatly in different 
children; the ordinary pupil learns lists of words and 
columns of figures more readily by seeing them than by 
hearing them repeated. He will learn still more readily 
if he adds movement to sight by writing the words and 
figures. A part of the increased facility probably re- 
sults from the more prolonged and intense attention 
required for writing; but something without doubt is 
gained by the combination of the motor image with 
the visual one. Some children, in recalling figures, 
words, sentences, locations of places, geometrical and 
other forms, make a mental picture of the page of 
a book, of the map, chart, or blackboard, which they 
have used in learning. Galton says, — 

" Some few persons see mentally in print every word that is 
uttered ; they attend to the visual equivalent and not to the 
sound of the words, and they read off, usually as from a long 
imaginary strip of paper, such as is unwound from telegraphic 
instruments. In an extreme case, frequently referred to, the 
individual ' at school recited from a mentally seen page, which 
he read off line by line and letter by letter. In making compu- 
tations, he ran his mental eye down imaginary columns of 
figures, and performed in this way the most varied operations 
of arithmetic. He could never think of a passage in a play 
without the entire scene, stage, actors, and audience appearing 
before him.' " 



THE STUDY OF" CHILDREN. 311 

Auditory Images. — A few persons, probably not a 
large number, have what may be called an auditory mem- 
ory ; that is, they recall sounds rather than sights ; they 
reproduce spoken rather than written words ; they hear 
rather than see in memory and imagination. How com- 
mon this peculiar form of memory is among children it 
is impossible to determine with our present information. 
Undoubtedly many children remember what they read 
or study aloud better than what they read or study 
silently. This, however, may be, in part at least, the 
result of habit rather than a mental peculiarity. 

Motor Images. — Allusion has been made to the prob- 
able aid to memory derived from uniting motor images 
with those derived from sight. Without doubt some 
children depend considerably upon motor concepts, 
either alone or combined with other images, in their 
efforts at reproduction. In the movement of the lips 
when studying, and when trying to recall words, prob- 
ably assistance is rendered by the mere motion of the 
vocal organs, though the sound is mostly suppressed. 

Productive Imagination, or Imagination proper. — The 
direction in which productive or creative imagination 
must be exercised has been indicated with sufficient 
clearness under the previous head. Since the imagina- 
tion does not create material, it must use such material 
as the memory and conception supply. Consequently 
we shall have modifications and combinations of images 
furnished by all the senses. One child will best com- 
bine sights ; another, sounds ; and still another, move- 
ments ; a few appear deficient in imaginative power in 
all directions, being satisfied apparently with the prosaic 
realities about them. Many of the products of the 
childish imagination are combined with obvious efforts 



312 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

at generalization and classification; the influence of 
analogy is readily discovered ; the dew is composed of 
the tears of the grass and flowers ; the stars are God's 
candles or lamps; the stars, again, are children of the 
moon. 

The plays of children, especially, give scope to the 
imaginative activity, and owe much of their interest and 
charm to the freedom with which it acts ; it will, how- 
ever, be noticed that in their wildest creations they are 
limited by the material with which they have been sup- 
plied. They play meeting, school, tea-parties, after- 
noon calls, and other things which they have learned 
from their elders. They imagine themselves soldiers, 
Indians, hunters, doctors, teachers, preachers ; they 
make believe they are wild beasts and other animals of 
various kinds. The imaginative plays of girls generally 
differ, to a considerable extent, from those of boys. 
These differences arise partly from native impulses and 
partly from the influence of early surroundings and 
instruction. 

Thinking and Reasoning. — The published results of 
recent observations of the thinking and reasoning pro- 
cesses of young children have revealed very little if any- 
thing new. Nevertheless, they are of interest and value 
to all teachers, and especially to those who are them- 
selves preparing to make observations in the same 
direction. 

Professor Brown, in presenting for publication some 
records of observations made by students of the Normal 
School at Worcester, Mass., arranges them under the 
following heads: (i) Misunderstanding of words; (2) 
Applications of sayings ; (3) Explanations of things ; 
(4) False reasonings; and (5) Thoughts and reason- 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 313 

ings about God, Christ, Heaven. These heads suggest 
convenient bases of classification, although the classifi- 
cation, in any particular case, will usually be determined 
by the end immediately in view. 

Principal Russell, of the same school, makes some 
excellent suggestions in relation to the subject under 
consideration. He says : — 

"Our first experiments lacked simplicity and directness, 
and were encumbered with unnecessary divisions, explana- 
tions, and cautions. It is a characteristic feature of our prac- 
tice that we do not limit the field of observation by propos- 
ing definite points to be investigated, or even making out 
special lines of inquiry. We made the mistake of beginning 
in a somewhat more ambitious way, that is, with more definite 
and restricted aims and with the hope of reaching certain con- 
clusions ; but the results recorded at that time are meagre 
and unsatisfactory, and the method was soon enlarged in 
scope, so as to give our observers greater freedom, and occupy 
them with what they could do, instead of what they could 
not. For instance, children were much questioned at first 
upon a great variety of topics, and their answers carefully 
recorded. But it was soon found that these answers pos- 
sessed little value, because the children, by the very act of 
being questioned by adults, were thrown out of their natural 
mental equilibrium, and they reacted upon the questions with 
replies that were more or less mechanical, fictitious, self- 
conscious, or otherwise distorted. It was like studying [the 
nature of a wild animal by observing its behavior in captivity. 
We came to abandon in large measure formal questioning, and 
along with it most of the seeking, prying, and testing that had 
been first attempted. We fell back upon the device known 
to sportsmen as the " still hunt." The observer learned to 
efface himself and to conceal his purpose, to keep the note- 
book and pencil out of sight and feign preoccupation, watching 
the child, as it were, out of the side of the eye." 



3 H A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

The method of observing here indicated is undoubt- 
edly, in the main, the correct one. A definite and 
restricted purpose or aim may sometimes, however, be 
profitably kept in view; and, under some conditions, 
questioning may be employed, provided the questioner 
has sufficient knowledge of child-nature and a large 
measure of genuine tact and skill. 

Ethical Notions. — The general moral development of 
children has been discussed in another chapter. It is 
the purpose here only to notice briefly some of the con- 
clusions reached through observations and experiments 
to ascertain the ethical notions of children. 

A few series of observations and questionings have 
been made to ascertain the religious and theological 
ideas of children. The general results of such ex- 
aminations could be easily anticipated by one ac- 
quainted with the environment of the children, with the 
homes in which they were nurtured, with their early 
associations and the instructions which they have re- 
ceived. The only matter of surprise will probably be 
the extreme crudeness of their notions and the intense 
realism of their conceptions. These so-called religious 
ideas, whatever they may be, have very little connection 
with ethical ideas or with questions of conduct. In this 
respect the young child and the primitive man give evi- 
dence of close relationship. In both the feeling of won- 
der passes into that of awe, in some cases accompanied 
by fear, then into reverence which impels to worship. 
Fear both restrains and constrains, and is useful till 
a susceptibility to higher motives is developed. But 
such restraint and constraint relate only to behavior 
towards the object of fear and reverence, and have little 
or no influence upon conduct in human relations. It is 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 315 

well stated, however, by Professor Barnes that the atti- 
tude of children of different ages towards religious ideas 
and religious instruction is a matter of great importance 
to the educator. He says: — 

" The young children under six accept what they have been 
told without question or comment. They, however, recast 
their theology into forms that appeal to their experiences and 
their modes of thought. From seven to ten there are occa- 
sional vague questionings, but under ten years old there are 
few indications of a questioning or doubting frame of mind. 
From that time on, however, questions arise ; the children try 
to reason things out, and to relate their theology to what they 
have learned through experience and through their studies. 
This critical spirit seems to culminate at thirteen or fourteen, 
and the criticisms are far more persistent and severe at this 
time than later. Of course, in this work, as in all studies on 
children, one must recognize the fact that some children de- 
velop much more rapidly than others, so that there are many 
exceptions ; but there is a clearly marked difference between 
children of eleven and of thirteen which must strike even 
the most careless observer." 

Disregard for Truth. — One of the most common 
charges of wrong in children is that of lying. The 
opinion has already been expressed that the charge is 
often unfounded ; that in many cases the intent to de- 
ceive, which is the essence of falsehood, is wanting ; that 
the distinction between reality and the product of imagi- 
nation is not clearly comprehended ; and that harm is 
done to the moral nature, as well as injustice to the child, 
by a hasty and inconsiderate accusation of lying. It 
is conceded, however, that some children very early 
become addicted to this vice, and lie habitually and 



316 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

apparently deliberately, even when it is difficult to 
discover any motive for so doing, when, indeed, the 
truth would seem to serve them better. But such cases 
are exceptional and frequently result from unwise 
treatment. 

The literature upon this subject is pretty abundant 
and of varying degrees of value. Among matter recently 
published is a report upon " Children's Lies," prepared 
by Dr. Hall, giving some conclusions drawn from an 
examination of three hundred children of both sexes 
between the ages of twelve and fourteen. 

Six distinct species of lies are recognized and de- 
scribed : — 

(i) Pseudophobia. — Lies under this head are char- 
acterized by the silent use of " not," or " I think," or 
" perhaps," or other similar mental and unspoken words. 
There is usually strong fear of evil consequences, and 
obvious effort to escape the appearance of out-and-out 
lying by casuistry and other devices which tend to de- 
stroy real nobility of character. 

(2) The Lie Heroic. — Lies which belong under this 
head are told to promote some noble and praiseworthy 
purpose, or what seems such to the child and sometimes 
to a person of more mature judgment and broader ex- 
perience. A strong child takes upon himself a wrong 
committed by a weaker one and bears the penalty. A 
pupil lies to screen an associate. Cases are imagined 
and described in which deception, involving something 
of self-sacrifice, appears clothed in a garb more attrac- 
tive than truth itself. Lies of this sort are peculiarly 
difficult to deal with, on account of the really noble ele- 
ment of character which is associated with them in the 
mind of the child. 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 3 \J 

(3) Truth for Friends and Lies for Enemies. — The 
term " enemies " is somewhat too strong for the idea 
which it is employed to express. Children are obviously 
more inclined to deceive teachers whom they do not like, 
and to lie to people to whom they are under no obliga- 
tion. The feeling in the child seems to be akin to that 
in the adult which holds anything justifiable in war, in 
politics, or in business. 

(4) Lies originating in selfishness appear in the cheat- 
ing which takes place in games. School life affords 
tempting opportunities for lies of this sort r cheating in 
recitations and examinations, feigning illness and forging 
excuses for absence and tardiness, playing truant while 
pretending to be in school, and many other forms of 
deception have their root in selfishness, which shades off 
into self-indulgence, love of ease, and dislike of the dis- 
agreeable. Anything which appeals very strongly to 
the feeling of emulation, and thus excites envy and 
jealousy, presents temptation for selfish lying. 

(5) Imagination and Play. — There is especial de- 
mand for caution in characterizing the acts and words of 
children classed under this head. Children are extremely 
fond of imagining themselves to be this or that, and of 
" make believe " plays in which they assume the names 
and act the parts of older people. They tell wonderful 
stories of the strange things they have heard, and seen, 
and done. All this usually means very little; mental 
conceptions and combinations are described with great 
seriousness, but there is no conscious purpose or inten- 
tion to deceive, — no lying in the proper sense of the 
word. It is a matter of pedagogical interest and impor- 
tance to determine the influence of fairy tales and fables 
upon this native tendency of childhood. It is well said, 



3l8 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

" Such exercise of their faculties children must have, even 
in the most platonic school republic. Its control, and 
not its elimination, is what is to be sought in the high 
interest of truthfulness." 

(6) Pseudomania. — Pathological lies are probably 
rare among children, as rare as genuine kleptomania 
among adults, and yet an apparent mania for lying occa- 
sionally makes itself manifest. This disposition, in most 
cases, results from affectation, from a desire to attract 
attention, from a love of applause, from a fondness for 
" fooling " others, or from a desire to be thought " smart," 
and to make one's self of importance in the eyes of asso- 
ciates ; in a few cases the propensity seems to be innate, 
and the child, or the man, lies against every motive of 
prudence and self-interest, as if under the control of some 
irresistible impulse. 

After describing a great variety of falsehoods, spoken 
and acted, and some of the excuses urged for these, the 
report referred to says, " In fine, some forms of the habit 
of lying are so prevalent among young children that all 
illustrations of it, like the above, seem trite and com- 
monplace. Thoroughgoing truthfulness comes hard and 
late, and school life is so full of temptation to falsehood 
that an honest child is its rarest, as well as its noblest, 
work." My own observation and experience justify me 
in entertaining a more cheerful view of childhood, and a 
more favorable opinion of the general influence of school 
life. Unfortunately the vice of lying is widely prevalent 
both in school and out of it, but it is not so universal 
that an exception is a rarity to excite wonder. 

Children's first Questions. — The maxim " follow na- 
ture," in the education of the child, has become trite; it 
is none the less a sound maxim if rightly interpreted 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 319 

and wisely applied. We may suppose it to mean, " be- 
gin where the child begins when left to himself; follow 
where the child leads when he is allowed to choose his 
own way and his own order of progress ; help him first 
to answers to the questions which he first asks." In the 
examination of objects what questions does the child 
first ask when undirected by the teacher or others? One 
recent observer concludes, " That young children attend 
almost exclusively to use, and care very little for form 
and color or structure, etc." Children of seven think 
they have told all when they have told what a thing is 
good for, as a horse is to ride, a cow to give milk, a 
house to live in, and so on. At eleven use is still the 
leading idea, but to this they are inclined to add defini- 
tion by employing a term of wider signification, as a 
house is a building, a cat is an animal. At fifteen defin- 
ing by employing a larger term comes before use : in- 
quiries about substance and structure are prominent ; 
color receives little attention. The disposition to inquire 
concerning qualities and to classify appears late. 

These conclusions are not in accord with generally 
received opinions, nor with the usual order in teaching. 
Most instructors are accustomed to begin with color and 
form, parts and structure, leaving the question of use to 
follow these. It is desirable to have further and careful 
observations in relation to this point, since it has an im- 
portant bearing upon the order and character of elemen- 
tary teaching. 

Study of the Body, — Some attention has already been 
given to those parts of the body most intimately con- 
nected with psychical action ; the study of the perceptive 
activities has necessarily involved some consideration of 
the external organs of the senses. 



320 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

Observations and experiments have been made in vari- 
ous quarters in relation to the growth and development 
of the body, and in relation to other matters involving 
the functions of the physical organism. Some of these 
require a brief notice on account of their practical value 
to teachers. 

Growth, of the Body. — The growth of the body is 
most rapid during the earliest years of life. Boys are 
both taller and heavier than girls up to about the twelfth 
year ; during the next two or three years girls grow more 
rapidly than boys, and, in many cases, surpass them in 
height and weight, reaching comparative maturity earlier 
than boys, and attaining nearly their full growth at six- 
teen or seventeen. After this time boys again become 
taller and heavier than girls, and, as a rule, continue so 
during the remainder of life. The results of examina- 
tions differ somewhat in different localities ; investigations 
in Belgium are said to show that girls are not taller than 
boys of the same age at any period of life in that coun- 
try. Statistics seem to prove that height and weight are 
affected, to some extent, by race and possibly by climate 
and other local conditions. 

A few questions naturally suggest themselves which, 
to some extent, concern the schools : Do the ordinary 
conditions of school life favor the normal and healthy 
growth of children? Do children in school grow more 
or less rapidly than those out of school employed in 
manual labor? Since children, during the periods of 
most rapid growth, are less able to do hard mental labor, 
can the work required by the schools be arranged with 
reference to this fact? 

Defects of Sight and Hearing. — The results of the ex- 
aminations of children in various localities, both in this 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 32 1 

country and Europe, appear to justify the conclusion, 
even after making due allowance for the probably uncon- 
scious tendency of experts to exaggerate the evils for 
which they are searching, that, in many cases, the sight 
is seriously impaired by conditions existing in the schools, 
such as insufficient light, the bad arrangement of win- 
dows and seating, the location and distance of black- 
boards, the size of type used in books, and others which 
need not be enumerated. While teachers, in most cases, 
are not primarily responsible for the existence of these 
bad conditions, they may justly be held accountable for 
any resulting evils which intelligence, forethought, and 
proper care would prevent. Congenital cases of defec- 
tive sight should be inquired into, and pupils should be 
seated with reference to such defects when this is pos- 
sible. Moreover, it may reasonably be expected of 
teachers to be prepared to advise wisely in relation to all 
conditions which are calculated to affect injuriously the 
eyes of their pupils, and to suggest means by which these 
conditions may be changed and improved. 

Systematic observations and examinations in respect 
to the hearing of school children are of comparatively 
recent date. It is exceedingly difficult for parents, or 
even for experts, to determine the existence of defects 
in the hearing of young children, or the extent and char- 
acter of defects when their existence is suspected or 
perhaps admitted. In most cases the child himself is 
not aware of any deficiency in the power of hearing, 
parents do not discover it, and teachers attribute the 
appearance of the pupil to heedlessness or stupidity 
rather than to partial deafness and consequent inability 
to understand what is said. It not infrequently happens 
that only one ear is defective and the child hears fairly 

21 



322 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

well with the other : when the sound ear is toward the 
speaker the child responds readily to requests and direc- 
tions ; his failure to do so when the other ear is toward 
the speaker is attributed to inattention or to wilful dis- 
obedience. In consequence not only is injustice done 
to the child, so far as intention and disposition are con- 
cerned, but he is put to great disadvantage in his honest 
efforts to learn. His progress is slow and he becomes 
discouraged, and, more than this, the chances are that 
his disposition and temper are changed for the worse. 
Conscious of being wrongly accused and unjustly treated, 
he comes, after a time, to possess and exhibit the bad 
traits with which he has been falsely credited. 

Various methods of testing the hearing have been de- 
vised by different examiners, all of which are open to 
more or less of objection ; it is not easy to fix upon any 
one mode which can be employed successfully and con- 
veniently under all circumstances. The number of de- 
fective ears in any particular school will be very few; 
and careful observation of pupils, day by day, while 
engaged in their ordinary work and in their plays, will 
enable an intelligent teacher to detect all cases of defi- 
ciency in hearing. When pupils are discovered who are 
thus afflicted they should be placed in the most favor- 
able conditions possible in respect to seating and other 
arrangements in the schoolroom and in the class when 
reciting. 

The differences between the results obtained by differ- 
ent investigators are so considerable that no general 
conclusions can yet be drawn upon which much reliance 
can be placed. The per cent of children defective in 
hearing, as shown by published tables, ranges from 2.18 
in some places to 25 and 30 in others, one or two exam- 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 323 

iners making it even more than 30. While the lowest 
per cent may possibly be below the true average, the 
highest leads one, who has had some personal observa- 
tion, to distrust the results of expert examinations. 

Suggestions. — The substance of the following sugges- 
tions is selected from various writers : — 

(1) Teachers should remember that in every class of 
twenty or more there are probably some defective to a 
greater or less extent in hearing. 

(2) Children known to be defective in hearing should 
be placed in the most favorable positions for hearing. 

(3) Idle, dull, and inattentive children should be tested 
for defects in the ears, and if found defective should be 
treated accordingly. 

(4) To guard against colds in the head, a common 
source of deafness, care should be taken that currents 
of cold air from windows do not fall upon the heads of 
children. 

(5) Since partial deafness is a comparative term, 
some provision should be made in connection with 
schools, to determine the degree of disability, and the 
best methods of making compensation to children for 
defective hearing. 

Some General Suggestions as to the Study of Children. 
— In closing the chapter the following suggestions are 
offered : — 

(1) Teachers in all grades of schools should give con- 
stant attention to the study of children generally, and 
especially to the study of individual children under their 
charge. Such study should not be confined to young 
children, but should embrace pupils of all ages and of 
all stages of development. Pupils between the ages of 
ten and fifteen afford material for most profitable obser- 
vation and study. 



324 A MANUAL OF PEDAGOGICS. 

(2) No one plan of study will be best for all observ- 
ers, or for all times, places, or circumstances. Each 
observer should do what he or she can do most advan- 
tageously under existing conditions. As a rule the 
simpler the scheme of working the better ; complicated 
blanks for reporting, with many and minute divisions and 
subdivisions, will be hindrances rather than helps ; a few 
somewhat general heads and directions will be enough 
for the ordinary observer ; the expert scientist may have 
as many as he pleases. 

(3) Schemes of study may properly embrace any- 
thing and everything which has relation to the physical, 
intellectual, or moral education of children. The whole 
field for study is consequently very wide ; some portions 
of it have hardly been explored even superficially, while 
other parts have received considerable attention. Some 
observations, explorations, and examinations can be 
made by teachers of ordinary intelligence and without 
apparatus or means other than good common-sense and 
well trained powers of observation ; other observations 
and examinations can be carried forward only by scien- 
tists and with the use of means not now in the hands of 
teachers generally. 

(4) Some of the directions which the observations of 
the ordinary teacher may take : — 

{a) The health of children ; effect of school life upon 
this ; school hygiene generally. 

{b) Sense-perception ; activity of the different senses, 
sight and hearing especially ; perception of colors, forms, 
sounds, etc. 

(c) " Contents of children's minds " on entering school ; 
practical relation of this to elementary teaching. 

{d) Particular modes of mental activity, such as mem- 
ory, imagination, judgment, reasoning. 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN. 325 

(e) Ideas of right and wrong; motives which have 
most influence; effect of new motives employed, etc. 

(/) Games and plays ; apparent influence of these 
upon development and character. 

(g) Inclination to deception; forms in which this is 
manifested; influence of environment in producing this 
tendency; modes of dealing with children who exhibit 
this disposition, etc. 

(K) Vocabulary of children; extent and character; 
relation of this to environment, etc. 

(i) First questions which children ask in respect to 
new objects ; apparent influence upon the character of 
such questions, etc. 

This list of points for observation is intended to be 
suggestive merely; it will be wise to consult surrounding 
conditions and, to some extent, personal preferences in 
determining the direction of observation. 

FOR READING AND REFERENCE. 

References in the preceding chapter. 

Pedagogical Seminary, vols. i. and ii. 

Shinn's Notes on the Development of a Child. 

Papers on Anthropometry, by the American Statistical 
Association. 

Sully's Studies of Childhood. Popular Science Monthly, 
vol. xlv., 1894. 

De Guimps' Life of Pestalozzi, chapter iv. 

Rousseau's fimile, Book First, Infancy. 

Haskell's Imitation in Children. 

Russell's Study of Children at the State Normal School at 
Worcester, Mass. 

Transactions of the Illinois Society for Child-Study. 



INDEX. 



[references are to pages.] 



Abstraction, defined, 65. 

Actions, classes of, 247-250. 

Activities, groups of mental, 58 ; out- 
line synopsis of, 73. 

Adaptation, law of, 151. 

Adler, F., on moral education, 30. 

^Esthetics, 44. 

Affections, defined, 77 ; classes of, 
77, 78. 

Analogy, of physical and mental action, 
116-118. 

Analysis, what it is, 65 ; in teaching 
elementary reading, 144. 

Anger, early manifestations of, 291. 

Answers, character of, 195, 196. 

Apprehension, law of, 136. 

Arnold, Dr., on teacher's character, 
258. 

Assimilation, law of, 137. 

Association, laws of, 63 ; defined, 71 ; 
laws of, in early reading, 144 ; in lan- 
guage work, 147 ; in history and 
geography, 148. 

Astonishment, early manifestation of, 
290. 

Attention, discussion of, 200-208. 

Authority, when relaxed, 234. 

Being, a moral, 223, 224. 

Biography, study of, 47. 

Body, development of, in children, 319, 

320. 
Brain, the, 52. 



Child, at beginning of life, 18; at school 
age, 138 ; study of, 52-73 ; the con- 
crete of, 159. 

Children, study of, 280 ; recent study 
of, 304-307. 

Classes, first ideas of, 170, 171. 

Class-work, discussion of, 180-186. 

Colors, discrimination of, 287, 288. 

Comprehension, law of, 136. 

Concentration, of studies, 271. 

Conception, 66: defined, 71. 

Concepts, general, 65, 71, 72. 

Concrete, the, of child, 15 9-1 61 ; exam- 
ples of lessons, 163, 164. 

Conduct, first law of, 101, 230; motives 
to, 229-233 ; standard of, 237. 

Conscience, described, 83 ; when it first 
appears in child, 100. 

Consciousness, 56 ; defined, 70. 

Curiosity, 211; manifestations of, 290. 



Deduction, 69, 72, 172, 173. 

Definition, reasons for various, of edu- 
cation, 11 ; upon what they depend, 
12; sources of, 17 ; of mental activi- 
ties, 70-73; of teaching, 122, 123. 

Desires, described, 78. 

Development, necessary to education 
20 ; what laws of, are, 86 ; first law 
of, 92-100 ; deductions from first law, 
102-112; second law of, 113; deduc- 
tion from second law, 115 ; third law 



328 



INDEX. 



of, 115, IJ 6 5 deductions from third 
law, 120-122 ; early intellectual, 293. 

Discrimination, 137. 

Distance, judging of, 287. 

Drill, testing by, 183. 

Education, aspects of, 13 ; defini- 
tions of, 13-17, 36 ; what it includes, 
20, 21 ; physical, 23 ; intellectual, 26 ; 
moral, 27-31 ; industrial, 31-35 ; as 
a science, 37, 51 ; as an art, 48-51 ; 
basis of the science of, 50 ; first steps 
in, 1 70 ; moral, 234. 

Efficiency, law of, 151. 

Emotions, 76, 77 ; early, 96 ; higher, 97. 

Environment, what and power of, 90. 

Envy, early manifestations of, 292. 

Epoch, culture, 273-275. 

Ethical notions of children, 314, 315. 

Ethics, 43. 

Evils of present courses of studies and 
remedies, 269-271. 

Expectation, importance of, 219, 220. 

Expression, modes of, 166. 

Extremes to be avoided, 151. 

Fear, early manifestations of, 289, 290. 

Feelings, discussion of, 75-85 ; .organic 
and muscular, 283 ; early manifesta- 
tions of, 288-291. 

Freedom, desirable for teachers, 263. 

Generalization, 66. 
Gilman, on moral education, 30. 
Groups of mental activities, 58-73. 

Hearing, early development of, 284, 
285 ; as to defects in, 320-323. 

History, study of, 47. 

Huntington, on beauty, 45 ; on manners, 
266. 

Idea, definite, needed, 11. 
Ideas of space and time, 57. 
Images, visual, 310; motor, 311. 
Imagination, discussion of, 61, 62 ; de- 
fined, 71 ; eany development of, 294, 

3"* 

Imitation, active, 176; early, 297. 
Induction, 68, 69; defined, 72, 171 ; ex- 



amples of, 171 ; complement of deduc- 
tion, 173. 

Inherited tendencies, 89. 

Injustice to the child, 235, 236. 

Inquiries, four essential, 235, 236. 

Instruction, law of, 136; basis of moral, 
238. 

Intellect, outline synopsis of, 72- 

Interest, nature of, 208-210 ; varieties 
of, etc., 210-212 ; discussion of, 213- 
221. 

Jealousy, early manifestation of, 292. 
Judgment, the, 66, 72 ; a, 67, 72 ; moral, 
83 ; early development of, 295. 

Knowledge, acquired, etc., 19-21 ; 
form in which the mind receives it, 
129-133 ; how assimilated, 133, 134; 
how retained and reproduced, 135. 

Language, 47; lessons in, 145, 146; 
early instruction in, 177; early ac- 
quisition of, 299-301. 

Laws of association, 63-64 ; defined, 
71 ; what, 91. 

Learner, true attitude of, 200. 

Lessons, object, 140 ; reading, 141-145 ; 
language, 145-147; length of, 152; 
assignment of, 153, 185 ; first moral, 
240 ; sources o£, 242-246. 

Lies, children's, discussed, 316-318. 

Logic, sort desired, 40. 

Manners, importance of, 265-267. 

Manual training, 31-35. 

Memory, defined, 63, 71 ; cultivation of, 
149. 

Mental activities, groups of, 58-73. 

Method, defined, 126. 

Methods, how modified, 113; divisions 
of, 112; how determined, 126. 

Mind, defined, 54, 70 ; laws of, 128 ; 
how it receives, assimilates, and re- 
produces knowledge, 129-135 ; general 
laws of, 136, 137, 151 : special laws 
of, 157-168. 

Moral nature, discussion of, 81-85. 

Moral development, discussion of, 98- 
100 ; teacher's work, 226. 



INDEX. 



329 



Morals, fundamental principles of, 23 
Motives, suggestions as to, 125 ; to con- 
duct, 229 ; series of, 251 ; highest, 252. 
Movements, various kinds of, 296. 



Nerves, 52 ; special, 53. 
Nervous system, 54. 
Notions, individual, it 
tion of general, 170. 



169; forma- 



Observation, questions on, 163 ; of 
children, 313, 314. 

Page, D. P., on spirit of teacher, 257. 

Particular, road from, to general, 172. 

Play, early, of children, 312. 

Pedagogics and pedagogy, 51. 

Perception, 57, 71 ; moral, 82. 

Percepts, 57, 71. 

Periods of school life, 102-109. 

Personality, in teacher, 254, 255; how 
exercised, 262-264. 

Preparation by the teacher, 184, 185. 

Presentation, law of, 136. 

Prizes, discussion of, 215, 216. 

Processes, early imperfect, 174. 

Progress, order of, in reading and lan- 
guage, 165. 

Proposition, denned, 72. 

Psychology, 51, 70; infant, 280. 

Questioning, discussion of, 190-194. 
Questions, characteristics of, 193, 194; 
early, of children, 318, 319. 

Reading, elementary lessons in, 141 ; 
discussion, 142-144. 

Reasoning, 67, 72 ; begins early, 166 ; 
early forms of, 312. 

Recitation, 180 ; purposes, 182 ; How- 
land on, 197, 198. 

Recitations, order of, 155. 

Representation, real, 61, 71 ; ideal, 71 ; 
early imperfect, 177, 178. 

Representative activity, 61 ; early devel- 
opment of, 308, 309. 

Responsibility, sourcfe of, 98. 

Rest, importance of, how secured, 154- 
156. 

Retention, law of, 137. 



Rewards, distinguished from prizes, 

215. 
Right, simple idea of, 82. 

School life, periods of, and discussion, 
102-109. 

Schools, classes of, and discussion, 110- 
112. 

Self, study of, 55 ; early consciousness 
of, 297, 298. 

Sensation, 56, 71. 

Senses, 53, 54 ; training of, 162, 163 
action of, 282. 

Sight, early development of, 285, 286, 
308; defects in, 320, 321. 

Sleep, 154. 

Smell, development of, 282. 

Soul, 54, 70. 

Space, idea of, 57. 

Stages in the development of seeing, 
287. 

Steps in teaching, 187-189. 

Studies, law for courses, and discussion, 
1 1 8-1 20; alternation of, 155; selection 
and arrangement, 269, 273 ; concen- 
tration and correlation of, 271, 272 ; 
suggestions for selecting, 276, 277. 

Summary of mental activities, 70-73. 

Synthesis, in language lessons, 146. 

Taste, development of, 282. 

Teacher, work of, 123, 124; imitates 
the scientist, 127 ; office of, 139 ; real 
work of, 180 ; work in moral educa- 
tion, 226, 227 ; discussion as to, 254- 
260. 

Teaching, definitions of, 122, 123 ; laws 
of, 12 ; general laws of, 136, 137, 151 ; 
special laws of, 157, 158, 167, 168 ; 
steps in, 187-189 ; methods in, 190. 

Technical terms, 178, 179. 

Telling, 197. 

Testing, methods of, 190, 191. 

Thinking, conditions of, 59 ; steps in, 
65-67; early, 312. 

Time, idea of, 57. 

Touch and temperature, early develop- 
ment of, 282, 309. 

Training, of child, 19 ; necessary to edu- 
cation, 21 ; manual, 31. 

Truth, disregard of, by children, 315. 



330 



INDEX. 



Uniformity, as to, of studies, 277, 
278. 

Vocabulary, early, of child, 301, 302. 

White, E. E., on teacher's personality, 
261. 



Will, act of, 80, 81 ; earliest exhibition 
of, 87 ; Preyer on, 88 ; development 
of, 101, 102 ; early development, 295. 

Wonder, early manifestations of, 290. 

Words, those to be first taught, 178. 

Work, early, in some subjects, 175. 



